James, My Boyfriend?
by CateandBaze4evr
Summary: James Potter and Lily Evans have been good friends since 5th year. But what will happen when James has some girl trouble and asks Lily to pretend to be his girlfriend to help him out.Will their friendship become more? Or will it be ruined forever? Plz R&R
1. Back at Hogwarts

**Back At Hogwarts**

"Oh look! I can see Hogsmeade! We must be close." Alice exclaimed happily. I walked over to the window and looked out. Sure enough, I could see the twinkling lights of the little town of Hogsmeade. We were close to the castle, finally.

"You guys should change into your robes. I have to go meet with the prefects and the Head Boy before getting off the train. We have to make sure everyone gets up to the castle safely." I said as I pinned my Head Girl badge back onto my robes, right over my heart.

"Okay Lily! Have fun doing your duties. Will we see you at the welcoming feast?" Marlene asked, pulling her trunk down from above the seat so she could get her robes.

"I'll definitely be there. I love the welcoming feast!" I grinned. After waving goodbye, I headed down the corridor to the back of the train where the prefects compartment was located. Time to find out who the Head Boy was, and explain to the prefects what needed to be done. It was going to be tough, being in charge of them all, but I knew I could handle it.

It was the beginning of my last year at Hogwarts, and though I was excited to start another year, I was sad that this would be the last time I ever rode this train to Hogwarts. When I arrived at the last compartment, I paused before entering. Hopefully I liked the Head Boy enough to work with him for the whole year. It wouldn't be very pleasant if we didn't get on well with each other.

"What're you waiting for Evans?" asked a familiar voice from behind me. I turned quickly, pulled out of my thoughts.

"James! I missed you and you're pranks! How was your summer?" I asked, throwing my arms around James in a friendly hug.

James Potter and I had been good friends since fifth year, when he had stood up for me when Severus called me a Mudblood. The memory was a bad one and a good one at the same time. I had been insulted by and lost my childhood friend, but I had befriended James and his mates-Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

James laughed and hugged me back. "My summer was great. Sirius and I got into loads of trouble, but you know what I say…what's the point of life if there isn't a little mischief once in a while?"

I grinned at him, shaking my head. James and the other boys were notorious for the pranks they pulled at Hogwarts. Everyone knew it was them, but they never got into trouble because nobody could ever prove it. "So what are you doing at this end of the train? Shouldn't you be headed up to the castle with Sirius and Peter?"

Remus, being a prefect, would be waiting in the compartment that we were standing outside of, but the other boys were supposed to be headed up to the castle, James included.

"Didn't anyone tell you? I'm Head Boy this year." James explained, grinning widely. My eyes widened.

"Really? Who would make you Head Boy?" I asked, semi-jokingly. James and his mates were grade A trouble makers. They were late to class, hardly ever did homework, and always found new ways to break the rules. Remus was the exception to their group, as he did everything he was supposed to, but still managed to have fun and pull pranks along with the others. I would have understood completely if Remus was Head Boy, but James? Dumbledore must have had a scheme in his mind, or his own idea of a prank. I had to admit, it was funny.

"I know! Who would've thought right? My parents were shocked too." James laughed.

"Well this should make for an interesting year." I grinned. James chuckled and nodded his head towards the door to the perfects compartment.

"You think we should go in there now?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. I nodded and pulled the door open. James followed me into the compartment and all the prefects turned their attention to us but the Slytherins, who were grouped in a corner, muttering under their breath and glaring at me. I could only imagine what they were saying.

"Hello," I started, looking around the compartment, seeing a few familiar faces, including Remus's. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Lily Evans, and this is James Potter. We are Head Boy and Girl this year. Now, I want to remind you that your job is to reprimand students who are breaking the rules. You can serve them a detention, or take House points, but those are the only punishments you are allowed to hand out. If you think the punishment needs to be greater, you are to take the student to a professor, who will then decide what the punishment will be."

Most of the prefects were nodding their heads, but the Slytherins were rolling their eyes and making comments, most of them just directed at me and my blood status. That was definitely going to get old, but i had learned to ignore the rude remarks after my fifth year.

"Also, James and I will have to put together the schedule for rounds, but when we finish with that, it will be posted near the Great Hall. Until then, just keep your eye out for troublemakers."

i glanced over at James, indicating that if he wanted to add anything, now would be the time. His eyes roamed the compartment and landed on the Slytherins in the back corner.

"I just have one thing to add-as Head Boy and Girl," James indicated himself and me, "we have more authority than you. If you break any rule, which includes making rude comments and insults, we can give you a detention and take house points." James ended, keeping his eyes on the Slytherin group in the back the whole time.

The group fell silent, glaring heavily at both James and me. i rolled my eyes. Slytherin students were so…frustrating. They thought they were better than everybody else, and it was really ridiculous.

"Well, I think that covers it then! If you have any questions concerning your responsibilities, please feel free to come and talk to either of us." i said, clapping my hands together. The other students nodded and smiled at me as they stood, ready to get off the train and head up to the feast.

James and I waited until all the prefects but Remus were off the train before we began our trip up to the castle.

"Remus it's so good to see you!" I said happily, squeezing Remus's arm. He smiled down at me. We had been prefects together last year and shared a lot of good memories from doing rounds together.

"It's good to see you too Lily. And congratulations on the Head Girl thing, you deserved it."

i grinned up at him. Remus was always so gentlemanly and chivalrous-and handsome to boot. I always wondered why he didn't have girls pinning after him the way James and Sirius always did.

"What about me? I'm one of your best mates, and you tell Lily congratulations before me?" James scoffed, faking a pout. I burst out laughing as Remus shook his head, grinning.

"James, I honestly have no idea why on earth Dumbledore would make you of all people Head Boy, but all I know is this year is going to be very interesting." Remus said, still not congratulating him.

James grinned. "It's our job at the Marauders to make life interesting. This just gives me a little more leverage in my duties."

Before Remus or I could reply, a carriage full of fifth year Ravenclaw girls passed by, and a voluptuous girl with black hair that I recognized as Lizabeth Vane stuck her head out the window and blew a dozen air kisses at James, wore swore and turned his head away, trying to duck behind Remus.

"See you at the feast Jamesie!" she called as the carriage got farther away although she proceeded to hang out of the window until the carriage turned to corner and disappeared from view.

Remus and I burst out laughing and James turned red, still cursing.

"What….was….that…..about?" I managed to choke out between fits of laughter. James glared at me half-heartedly.

"Wasn't that Lizabeth Vane? She's like, a fifth year. And she's a Ravenclaw." Remus gasped as his laughs subsided. James punched him in the arm and bumped me with his shoulder.

"She cornered me on the train and declared her undying love for me! I didn't know what to do-she's a bloody fifth year for crying out loud!-but I didn't want to hurt her feelings either, so I just mumbled something about Head Boy duties and took off in the other direction." James explained, his face still a slight shade of red from his embarrassment.

"Just tell her you aren't interested." I suggested, trying to calm the new fits of laughter that James's explanation had caused.

"I tried! She told me she knew I was single, and that she won't give up until I'm off the market for good." James groaned.

"Oh, that could be a problem then." I replied. James Potter, off the market? Hah, James and Sirius were well known for their reputations of being single, but still snogging almost every girl they could. But even James had standards now that he was a seventh year, apparently fifth years were too young for him, which was a relief.

I could only imagine all the little broken hearts there would be if James and Sirius stooped to snogging any of the fifth years. They would get the crazy notion that they were in love, and that they were meant to be together forever. I had watched it happen to my own best mate, Marlene, when she snogged Sirius. And like all the other girls before her, she was forgotten about as soon as a hotter girl came along.

At least they can still be friends, I thought. Marlene had no hard feelings against Sirius, though she had been hurt at the time. Now they were all just really good friends, who got along well together. Sometimes the Marauders would even recruit the girls to help with some pranks, but that was pretty rare.

"Yeah, it could be. I just have to figure something out, but I'm not going to worry about that right now. After all, it's our last welcoming feast. Might as well make the most of it!" James said easily. He was so carefree, it made me jealous sometimes. I wish I could be that easy going and reckless, but no, I was reliable Lily. Everybody could count on me to do the homework, or follow curfew. Sometimes it was hard being the responsible one in my group of friends.

James, Remus, and I walked the rest of the way to the castle, catching up with one another and talking about the events of our summers. James had the most exciting stories, as he was with Sirius and they were always doing crazy things. Remus had had an average summer, having gone to his cousin's wedding in France and staying with them and a few other family members for a month.

I-by far-had the worst summer out of all of our friends, having spent the summer doing nothing but reading through this year's books and avoiding my sister and her walrus of boyfriend, Vernon Dursley. I didn't mind being a muggle-born, but sometimes it was really hard. Especially when it made my own sister hate my guts and call me a freak.

We had finally reached the main entrance to the school, and we walked through the halls quietly, making our way to the Great Hall. Luckily, there were still huge crowds of students filing in the doors so we joined the crowd and let ourselves flow into the Hall.

I felt the familiar feeling of excitement flood through my body. I was back at Hogwarts at last, and I was going to make sure that this year turned out to be bloody incredible, even if it damn near killed me.


	2. Sorting & Nostalgia in the Great Hall

_A/N: Before anything else, I would really like to thank Kalezz for her amazing reviews. I really appreciate your input! You are simply amazing :) Also, I took your advice on the summary...please let me know if the new one is an improvement._

_Now, I also wanted to say that I've had the idea for this story in my mind for quite some time now, and I've actually written a few different versions, but this is one of the ones that I am really happy with. Please let me know what you think! _

_Reviews=fast updates_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Sorting and Nostalgia in the Great Hall**

When we finally reached the Gryffindor table, James, Remus, and I found Sirius and Peter, who were with Marlene and Alice. They had saved us a spot and we all sat down, grateful to finally be seated. The rush and chaos of the welcoming feast was always a bit overwhelming, even as seventh years.

"How'd the meeting go Lily?" Marlene questioned, looking over the table at me. She was sitting between Sirius and Peter, with Alice on the other side of Sirius. I was sitting across the table between James and Remus.

"It was fine. Slytherins were acting like Slytherins, of course. But the rest of the prefects seem like they'll do good this year." I answered, wishing for the delicious food that the Hogwarts house elves always made. But we had to wait until after the sorting ceremony took place to eat.

"So who's Head Boy? Is it someone decent at least?" Alice chirped in her tinkling voice.

"You'd never guess." I laughed, glancing at James, who was smirking.

Both of the girls' eye widened. "You?" they gasped at the same time.

James, Remus, and I laughed heartily. "It's unbelievable, I know, but I'm not complaining." James grinned.

The rest of the group joined in the laughter until Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the most powerful wizards in the world, took his place at the teacher's table. He pointed his wand to his throat to make himself louder.

"Students," he boomed, smiling kindly out at the sea of students in the Great Hall. "I would like to welcome you back to another school year here at Hogwarts, and I hope that this turns out to be another truly wonderful year of learning and adventures. Now, please, let the sorting begin."

We all turned as the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagal lead in the group of first years that needed to be sorted. They all look so nervous. I sighed nostalgically, remembering when I had been waiting to be sorted. I had been friends with Severus then, and he desperately wanted me to be sorted into Slytherin with him, but from the things I had heard, even as a first year, I wanted anything other than Slytherin. Thankfully, I had been chosen as a Gryffindor.

James nudged me and leaned close to my ear. "Remember that?" he whispered. I nodded, turning to smile at him.

I had met James while waiting to be sorted, and I remember thinking that he was the most obnoxious boy I had ever met. We had all been so young then, and we had all looked and acted so very different. James had been scrawny, with crooked glasses and wild black hair. He still had the wild black hair, but his glasses weren't crooked anymore, and he definitely wasn't scrawny. Quidditch had helped with that, though. Sirius had been with James then, and they had teased me relentlessly about my red hair.

"So much had changed since our first year. I mean, look at all of us. Plus the fact that we're friends, and you've stopped asking me out to every Hogsmeade trip." I teased.

I thought back, recalling how James had asked me out every chance he got beginning in first year all the way up to fifth year. That was when we had become friends, after the incident with Severus, and he had promised me that he would stop asking me out, telling me the only reason he was doing it was because it was funny to see me get so annoyed. We had been friends ever since, and I was really glad about that.

James grinned. "Oh c'mon Lils, you know you liked me asking you out, if only because you got to embarrass me by saying no all the time."

"Okay," I conceded, "maybe it was a bit enjoyable, turning you down. But I'm glad that's all over with. Being friends is so much better than being annoyed by you all the time."

"I agree." James said, leaning back away from me. He nodded his head towards the front of the Great Hall. The sorting was already halfway over.

I watched the rest of the ceremony in silence, clapping whenever a student was sorted into Gryffindor. By the end of the sorting, we had about twenty or thirty new housemates, who were sitting at the end of the table, still looking a little nervous. I chuckled, remembering the feeling.

"Yeah! We got more new kids than Slytherin!" Sirius cheered. Everyone rolled their eyes. Sirius despised Slytherins even more than any other Gryffindor, and he had every reason to. His whole family was in Slytherin, he was the only one to ever have been in Gryffindor, and his whole family hated him for it. James had revealed to me last year that Sirius had moved in with him during the summer before fifth year because things got so bad at his house.

Dumbledore had stood up once more and he captured everyone's attention when he cleared his throat, again using his wand to make his voice louder. "Now that the sorting had ended, I think it's about time to enjoy the feast that has been prepared for you. Enjoy!"

With a wave of his wand, food appeared all along the table. My mouth watered at the sight and smell. This was one of my many reasons of loving Hogwarts. Every meal was mouth-watering.

"Finally!" Alice exclaimed, reaching for a plate to load food onto. Marlene and I followed suit, but the boys had beaten us to it and were already stuffing their faces.

"You lot are such pigs!" Marlene giggled, spooning potatoes onto her plate, then drowning them in gravy. I laughed, having gotten used to the boys' eating habits. Marlene and Alice had to, as we spent most of our time with the Marauders, but they still liked pointing it out, just because they could.

"My mum's meals are great and all, but nothing will ever top the food that the house elves make. They are like, lords of the kitchen." James said as hit bit into a roll.

"Very true, mate, very true." Sirius said around a mouthful of…something. I wasn't sure what exactly, and I didn't want to investigate further. "I mean, your mum makes killer meals, but every bite of this food is like a little piece of heaven in your mouth."

Conversation ceased after that, as every single one of us was too busying eating as much food as we could before it was time to go up to the common rooms and turn in for the night. Sirius ate more food than anyone, as he always did, with James following in close second.

It was truly amazing how they made a competition out of everything they did. Minutes after Sirius took his last bite, claiming his clothes were going to fall off if he took even one more bite, the food disappeared from the table and the benches scooted away from the table. The signal that it was time to head up to the common room.

"James, we have to go help with first years." I said as I stood up.

"Oh, Merlin, I think I ate too much." James groaned and stood up.

I shook my head. "You do this every time there's a big feast, and I always tell you not to but you don't listen to me. That's your own fault." I laughed.

"Let's just go help these first years so we can go up to the common room and relax," James grinned, then he looked at Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "See you up there mates?"

All four nodded at him and I looked at Marlene and Alice. "We'll just tag along with the boys and meet you in the common room Lily." Marlene said happily.

I smiled at them. "See you when we're finished herding them to the common room then."

James and I walked towards the end of the table side-by-side. "Ready to deal with the chaos James?"

He smirked down at me. "My whole life is chaos. You really think that a group of first years is going to be that hard to handle?"

"I guess we'll see now won't we, ." I said, mimicking his signature smirk.

_A/N: How'd you like it? Let me know what you think in a review! :)_


	3. Common Room Questions

_A/N: So here's another chapter for all you lovely readers out there :) I hope you enjoy it! _

_Also, I would like to say, as a semi-response to a few reviews I got, if you think this story is going to fast and seems rushed, that will only be these first few chapters, just because its the return to Hogwarts and everything is sort of rushed in the excitement of returning. Just wanted to make that clear..._

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Common Room Questions**

When I walked up to the first years standing around the end of the table, they looked up at me-some fearfully, some curious, and some totally at ease. The at ease ones reminded me of James and Sirius in our first year. I had been a mix of fearful and curious, of course.

"Hello, my name is Lily Evans. I'm Head Girl this year, and I'm also in Gryffindor." I said smiling down at the group, hoping to make them feel more comfortable.

I felt James step closer behind me. "And I'm James Potter. I'm also, obviously, a Gryffindor, and I'm Head Boy."

There was a murmur around the little group and the students looked up at James in awe. James smirked at I caught a few bits and pieces of the conversations that were taking place amongst the young students.

"He's the Captain of the Quidditich team!"

"I heard he had his own secret society and they prank people all the time!"

"Oh Merlin! He is sooo cute!"

"Look how fit he it."

"Are they dating? They'd be such a cute couple!"

I looked at James, shocked. His smirk just got wider before he turned back to the kids standing in front of us.

"Okay, listen up now." He said, waiting for the murmurs to stop. Once he had their attention, he started again. "You need to follow Lily and me very closely. Some of the staircases move and we wouldn't want you to get separated and lost on your first night here, would we?"

The little first years shook their heads, their eyes wide.

James turned to me, a glint in his eyes." "Ready to lead the way, Head Girl?"

I smiled up at James. "Sure, let's go."

I turned to the first years, looking over the group to take a quick head count. Twenty. "Okay, remember what James said and follow closely!" I instructed.

They all nodded and we started out of the Great Hall. We reached the door at the same time as Lizabeth Vance. Lovely. She still hadn't spotted James, but she would any second now.

"Oh, bloody hell!" James cursed, turning his back to her quickly. He looked at me helplessly but I just laughed. It was so amusing to see James flustered about a girl and I was enjoying it.

Despite his efforts, Lizabeth caught sight of his, a smile lighting her face as she started towards us.

"She's coming over here." I giggled. Whoa, I NEVER giggled.

"Shit! Lily help me out here!" James begged, looking panicked.

"No can do James. Sorry." I shrugged, not really sorry at all.

Lizabeth had finally reached us, and she wrapped her hand around James's bicep, holding tightly.

"Jamesie!" she squealed. If the pitch of her voice was any higher, humans would be unable to hear her. "I'm so glad I found you. We need to catch up about our summers. You'll never guess what…"

"Actually," James said, cutting her off before we could head what we would never guess. "Lily and I have to show the first years to the common room. Head duties, you know."

Lizabeth pouted, over exaggerating the gesture to the extreme. Then she smiled. Bi-polar much?

"Oh, that's okay I suppose. You have your work to do Jamesie. Mmm, I sure do love a man with responsibilities."

James grimaced and I bit back a laugh. "Lizabeth, I really don't…"

"Ah, ah, ah. We can catch up later, really. I know you want to spend quality time with me, because we are soul mates and all, but you do have a job to do, and I don't want to keep you from that any longer. Now go on, we'll see each other soon, don't worry." Lizabeth said in her bubbly voice. After giving James's arm a squeeze, she skipped off, her hair swinging from side to side as she went.

I glanced over at James, raising my eyebrow. "Jamesie? You ready to go now?" I teased, mimicking Lizabeth's voice.

James shot a glare at me and I stifled another laugh.

Merlin, Lizabeth was annoying! It was actually pretty sad, because she probably didn't even realize it. But James had himself a predicament, and I was going to have loads of fun watching him try to figure out a way to stop Lizabeth's advances.

After almost half and hour of walking through the halls, trying to keep the group together, we finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, which served as the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked, her eyes running over James, then me, and finally the group of first years-most of who were in shock from finding out the pictures talked.

"Hinkypunk." I said, smiling at the Fat Lady. I had missed her and all her drama queen antics over the summer. It was sad to think that this would be my last year with her.

"You may enter my dear." She replied, returning my smile and nodding at each of the new students as they filed into the common room.

"James will you show the boys to their dormitories while I show the girls to theirs?"

James nodded. "C'mon lads, this way." He started towards the staircase across the room, the boys trailing after him obediently.

I saw the other three Marauders and the girls lounging on the couch and in the armchairs by the fire-our usual spot-and waved.

Marlene and Alice returned the gesture but Remus had his nose in a book and Sirius was too busy trying to make Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into Peter's mouth to notice me.

I chuckled, turning back to the little first year girls who were watching me expectantly. Had I been that…obedient at eleven? I wondered, then shook my head. Of course you were Lily! You just barely started to stop being so goody-two shoes during fifth year, right after befriending the Marauders of course.

"Let's go girls. The dormitories are up here."

They followed me up the girl's staircase and I showed them to their dorms. After giving a mini-tour of the place-showing them their bathroom and the hidden cupboard that always had clean towels-I turned to go.

"Um, Lily?" one of the girls said quietly.

I turned. "Yes?"

"Can I…ask you a question?" asked a tiny little blonde girl with a spray of freckles across her face. She was standing at the end of the bed she had chosen, and was looking at the floor rather than at me.

All the other girl were gathered around, listening to what we were saying, but pretending they weren't. I got the feeling that they had nominated her to be the one to ask a question they were all dying to know.

"Sure, go ahead and ask away." I smiled, wanting to make this poor girl feel less nervous.

"Okay, well I was wondering…are you and the Head Boy dating?" she asked, blushing.

I laughed loudly. "James? Oh, no. He's just a friend of mine. It isn't like that with us."

"Oh, okay." She nodded, looking over at the group of girls that had edged even closer to us. They all looked gravely disappointed, which made me want to laugh even more, but I refrained.

"Alright you guys. I'll leave you to get settled now. Remember, classes first thing after breakfast tomorrow. Oh, and don't be afraid to ask questions, whatever its about, James or I will answer the best we can."

My eyes scanned the room, looking over the girls. I could see the excitement of being at Hogwarts in their eyes and I smiled, reminded of myself.

"Goodnight then." I called as I walked out the door. There was a chorus of goodnights called out after me, and then furious whispers and giggles.

Ah, to be young and excited. Carefree. Oh, how I missed those early days of life at Hogwarts.

"And then, get this, he asked me if I was, and I quote, 'shagging the hot Head Girl'!" James gwaffed, looking around the circle of our friends until his eyes met mine.

Apparently he had been asked about me and him also-just in different terms.

"A first year? Merlin, I was embarrassed to talk about snogging at that age!" Alice retorted, giggling along with the rest of us.

Finally done with our Head duties, James and I had returned to the common room and joined our mates around the fire. After all, it was the last first day at Hogwarts we would ever have, and we couldn't just go to bed like it was nothing. We had to stay up late and chat and be teenagers together.

So now we were sitting in a circle, relating random and funny stories to each other, just happy to be there, and be friends.

"Well what did you tell him?" I asked James, ginning at him. "Did you explain that you are in a very committed relationship at the moment, and you're girlfriend-who is definitely not me-is the only girl you'll ever have eyes for, because your soul mates?" I crooned the last two words and James turned red.

Merlin I loved teasing the boy! He got so flustered.

Sirius, who had not really been paying much attention until now, sat up.

"You have a girlfriend Prongs?" he shouted, looking offended. "And you didn't even tell me?"

James glared at me half-heartedly and I smiled innocently. Remus burst out laughing, his head thrown back and his hands clutching his stomach. He knew what I was talking about, and he knew James was embarrassed about it.

Marlene and Alice just looked confused, which made the whole situation even funnier for some reason.

Sirius stopped, looking from me to Remus to James.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

Remus, calming his laughter, explained. "You see, Sirius, it seems our Prongs here has an admirer."

Sirius, finally catching on, beamed gleefully. His eyes lit up and James groaned, slamming his head down on the table in front of him.

"Who? Who is she?"

"Lizabeth Vance. The fifth year Ravenclaw." I stated gleefully. This was an even better first night back than I had expected!

Sirius sank back down into the armchair he had vacated only minutes before, overcome with laughter.

"So that's who she was talking about! Our dear Prongs! Can I be the best man at your wedding? From what I heard, its already mostly planned out, but I'm sure you can manage to squeeze your brother into the picture, can't you?" Sirius asked, looking at James, who had a murderous look on his face.

I jumped up in front of James. Merlin, he wasn't supposed to get so offended! We were only having a bit of fun and he had to go and get his knickers in a twist.

James looked at me, the anger draining from his expression only to be replaced by helplessness.

"Lily…" James trailed off, but I understood what he was asking me. We had become that close in the two years of being friends.

"Don't worry about it James, we'll figure something out to get her off your back. Right guys?" I asked, turning and giving each one of them a pointed look that I usually reserved for students I was reprimanding for breaking the rules.

"Right!"

"Yeah mate."

"Of course."

"Whatever you need Prongs."

"Anything for my brother. You know that."

Everyone replied at once. I smiled up at James, who looked a bit better at the thought of their help.

"Now everyone should get some sleep. After all, we do have classes in the morning." I said. That was me…Always dependable and responsible.

After exchanging goodnights with one another, I headed upstairs to the dormitory I shared with Marlene and Alice, the two girls close behind me, and James, along with the rest of the Marauders, headed to their shared dormitory as well.

Our first day back at Hogwarts had officially come to an end…

_A/N: Okay, so here's the part where you leave me a review! :) Please! Let me know what you like/dislike, questions, comments, or just stop by and say Hello if you want! Any and all reviews are welcomed._

_Oh! just because I'm a pretty random person, if you ask me a question about myself in a review-anything you want to know about me!-I'll post your question and the answer at the bottom of the next chapter, just for a little bit of fun :D_

_So...review review review pretty please! _


	4. Why Not You?

_A/N: I am so sorry it had taken so long for an update! I was camping up at Shaver Lake, California for a couple days and just got back. It was dreadful, not having a computer, because I had this chapter all written up and I had no way to upload it :/ But! the camping was fun, albeit cold. And I pulled a Marauder worthy prank on the boys I was camping with :) You should all be so proud._

_Anyways, here's another chapter for you lovely readers. I hope you like it!_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Why Not You?**

The first half of the day passed quickly-the only notable event happened to be when Lizabeth had walked towards our table looking for James, causing him to shoot me a look before ducking beneath the table until she had left.

Now I was sitting in Potions with James, Sirius, and Remus. Slughorn was giving the same welcome back speech he gave every year and the four of us were studiously tuning him out while looking as though we were paying attention. It was a skill we had mastered in fifth year and had kept improving ever since.

"Prongs, your facial expression was classic! When you spotted Vane looking for you outside of Astronomy I thought you were going to launch yourself off the tower!" Sirius recalled, barking out a laugh.

"Shut up, Padfoot." James mumbled as he doodled all over his brand new Potions book. Of course, he still had no respect for his books, I thought.

"She was waiting outside your classroom? How did she know what you had?" I questioned.

James looked up at me, a strange look that I couldn't decipher, on his face.

"Lily, you said you would help me…this is getting way out of hand."

I sighed. How in the bloody hell was I supposed to help him with this? I mean, yeah I had told him I would figure something out, but in reality, I had no idea what to do. Lizabeth was a love-struck little girl, and she had said that she wouldn't give up on James until he had a really serious girlfriend…

I snapped my fingers. That was it! The perfect way to get her off his back. "James…," I started, going over the thoughts in my head once more before I voiced them. "All you need to do is go out with another girl. Lizabeth said she would back off if you were in a serious relationship."

Remus and Sirius, who hadn't really been paying attention to us, looked up with interest.

"But…I don't know anyone that I would really want to date…" James said slowly.

I rolled my eyes. "You wanted my help didn't you? Well, that's my only idea of how to get Lizabeth to leave you alone! It's not like it has to be a long-term, forever and ever relationship. Just be convincing until she gets the hint."

"That's bloody brilliant Evans! Why didn't I think of that?" Sirius grinned as he pushed his silky hair out of his eyes. He leaned forward on the table, his smoky gray eyes shining. "Who's gonna be the lucky girl, Prongs?"

James, realizing he was outnumbered, turned to Remus. "Don't you have any other ideas? You're supposed to be the brainy one."

Remus shook his head. "Sorry mate, but Lily's plan is actually your only option if you want Lizabeth to stop chasing after you."

James smacked his head down on the table, looking totally defeated.

I smiled. Having his friends on my side was always a rewarding feeling. Even though James was a good friend, I loved it when I came up with a better plan than him, or when I crushed him in a friendly battle of wits.

James raised his head slowly, a new spark in his hazel eyes.

Uh oh, this could not be good…

"Lily, we're good friends right?"

"Um, yes. You know that James." I said warily. I _really _didn't like the look on James's face. It was the look all the Marauders got right before a really incredible prank.

"And you said you'd help me with this little…predicament…that I have, correct?"

"Erm…again, yes I did. But I just gave you my only idea. I don't see how else I can possible help you."

"Well," James began, grinning widely now. "Seeing how there's no girl I really fancy enough to date…and you don't have a boyfriend…_you _pretend to be my girlfriend."

James looked at me, his eyes wide and begging. My jaw dropped.

"Whoa, James. I thought you got over your crazy notion of dating me in fifth year!"

James shook his head wildly. "It's not like that Lils! We're just friends, I promise. I only feel platonic friendship feelings for you. But…friends help each other out, and it's not like I can ask Remus or Sirius to do this for me!"

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look.

"We are best mates, practically brothers, but I have a line that I will not cross." Sirius stated firmly. Remus nodded his agreement.

I sighed. Would I be able to pretend to be James's girlfriend?

"What exactly would I have to do? If I said yes, that is." I made sure to clarify that I hadn't agreed to anything yet.

"Well, all you'd really have to do is act a little more…erm…affectionate." James said, thinking it over.

"You already hang around with us, so you teo would just have to hold hands and hug and do other boyfriend/girlfriend stuff." Sirius said, looking at me.

I looked around at the three boys, torn at what to do. Sure, I wanted to help James out, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be his….girlfriend. I swallowed hard at the thought.

"May I ask why it has to be me? Why not Marlene or Alice?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and snorted. "Because of your history with James of course! You can play it off like you finally realized you had feelings for him after he stopped trying so hard, and the two of you get together. Everyone in the castle will by it."

I groaned.

"I'm not forcing you Lils," James said, "but it was your idea. Like you said, it doesn't have to be long-term or anything. Just until Lizabeth leaves me alone."

I met James's gaze and sighed. Why did he have to be so damn persuasive?

After a few moments of deliberation, I shrugged. 'I'm sort of obligated, as your friend."

James grinned and leaned over to hug me. I squeezed him back, laughing at his enthusiasm.

The commotion finally caught Slughorn's attention. He turned to us and raised an overly bushy eyebrow.

"Would you like to share what is so exciting with the class, you two?" he questioned, but the effect was ruined by the jolly look on his plump face.

I shook my head, embarrassed that he has called attention to us.

"No sir. We're sorry for being disruptive, guess it's just the joy of being back at school. It won't happen again sir." James replied charmingly, giving Slughorn an easy smile.

Slughorn, being the most carefree teacher in Hogwarts, shook his head and beamed down at them. "I trust that it won't, ."

I snorted a laugh into my hand as he turned his back on us and lumbered back to the front of the classroom. James took advantage of his ability to charm the teachers much too often, but I was amusing to watch, I had to admit.

"We'll need to discuss this more later, just to set the guidelines a bit." I whispered. James nodded at me, grinning happily now that he had a solution to getting rid of Lizabeth Vane.

I looked over at Sirius and Remus. Remus had returned his attention to his book, ignoring Slughorn like the rest of the class, but Sirius was smirking at me like he knew something I didn't.

I looked away, a rather uncomfortable feeling in my stomach caused by Sirius's look, and spaced out, thinking about the predicament I had just agreed to get myself into.

I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this…but from that moment on, I was James's girlfriend. And the Marauders and I (and Marlene and Alice, when I told them) were the only ones that knew it was fake.

What an interesting start to my final year at Hogwarts…

Later that night James and I were doing our rounds, not having made up the schedule yet. I was trying to figure out how to broach the subject of James's totally psychotic plan, seeing how after Potions ended not one word had been said about it, but James beat me to the punch.

"So, Lily, about this whole pretend girlfriend thing." He said awkwardly, which was new for James. He never did anything awkwardly. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"What about it?" I asked, glad he had said something first. It was all new territory for me. I mean, pretending to be his girlfriend after four years of him asking me out and me rejecting him, and then two years of being good friends? It was bound to be a little strange.

"Well, you said earlier that we should set some guidelines or whatever."

"Oh, right," I looked around. The halls were deserted. "Erm, let's go in here and we can talk it all out." I said, grabbing James's arm and pulling him into the nearest empty classroom.

"Trying to get us a reputation already?" James teased. Of course, he would think about that. I had caught him snogging in empty classrooms on several occasions in the previous years, and each time it had been with a different girl.

I rolled my eyes at him and hopped up onto a desk, shifting until I was comfortable. James leaned on the desk across from me, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so.

Since when was he that _fit_? His forearms were even defined for crying out loud! I looked away from his arms and back up to his face.

He was watching me, a tiny smirk pulling up one corner of his mouth.

"Anyways…I agreed to help you by pretending to be your girlfriend. But," I help up a finger to keep him from interrupting me. "there are lines that I refuse to cross with you."

James cocked his head to his side. "And those are?" he asked.

"I am not going to snog you. No kissing at all. We can hug and hold hands and do all that other mushy stuff that people do…but no kissing. That's just to weird."

James narrowed his eyes. "Not even on the cheek? Seriously, nobody is going to buy that we're together if you don't even kiss me on the cheek in public!"

I threw my arms up, exasperated. It was just to…affectionate. I didn't want to kiss James. We were friends! Argh, this year was supposed to be good and easy, other than the N.E.W.T exams, and at the rate it was going so far, it was going to be anything but.

"Fine, I guess you're right. Cheek kisses should be…acceptable."

James nodded. "Okay, what else?"

"Well," I pondered. I didn't really have anything else to add. "How did we get together exactly? We want to have our stories straight if people ask, which I am sure they will."

James ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up in all directions. "Tonight. We were doing our rounds-which is true-and we just sorta decided to go for it. Like Sirius said, you finally realized your burning desire for me." He grinned, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses.

I shook my head at him, grinning slightly as well. Merlin, what was I thinking?

"Sounds like a decent story. I think we can actually pull this off."

"Of course we can Lily! I'm a Marauder, remember? We can pull anything off."

"You are too cocky for your own good James." I laughed as I slid off the desk.

He held out his arm towards me. "Time to head back to the common room?"

"Yeah, I think our rounds are over for the night." I agreed, grabbing his elbow.

We walked back to the Gryffindor tower, discussing our classes and how great it was to be back at Hogwarts, enjoying each other's company. If pretending to be his girlfriend was as simple as that, only with a little hand holding thrown in, I could do it easily.

"Password?" chimed the Fat Lady, snatching me out of my reverie.

"Oh, uh, Hinky punk." I mumbled.

James and stepped back as she swung her portrait forward, reveling the entrance.

"Go ahead." James said, nodding towards the entrance.

I released my grip from his elbow and stepped through, into the warm common room. He followed quickly behind me.

There was only a few third years sitting in the back corner of the common room, scribbling away on pieces of parchment. One of their teachers either didn't like them, or just didn't care that it was only the first day of term. I felt bad for them.

"Well," I said, turning to face James. "Guess this is goodnight…boyfriend."

Merlin, this was so strange.

James smirked down at me. "Guess it is goodnight….girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes. He always had to make fun of me. But we were best friends, and it didn't matter to me. It was all in good fun.

I hugged him, but somehow it was different from the hug we has shared greeting each other on the train. Or maybe it was just different for me…

I heard James chuckle as I turned to go up the stairs so I turned back to face him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about what we're getting ourselves into." James smiled.

"Trouble, that's what." I replied, turning to head up the stairs once more.

"G'night Lils." James called softly. I waved my hand over my shoulder.

"Night James."

As I fell into my bed, suddenly exhausted, I groaned. Tomorrow was going to be very eventful, that was for sure…

_A/N: Okay, so you know what to do now I hope! Please review! I love all the reviews I've gotten so far, and they are all appreciated. _

_Now, to answer the two questions I got asked due to my randomness :)_

_1. Q: Why did you start writing fanfiction?_

_ A: Well, I started writing when I was young, and I've loved to write ever since. I found this site, and at first I just used it to read other stories, but then I decided, you know what...what the heck, I'm going to publish something on here and see what happens. Being 15 at the time I published my first story, I was a little nervous. I had never let anybody read what I wrote before, but all I got was positive feedback. I was so proud. So, I've been writing fanfiction ever since, and I love every minute of it, although I still get a little nervous when I publish new things. That's why reviews are always so great to recieve. :)_

_2. Q: Who is your favorite Marauder?_

_ A: Well, that is a really hard question to answer! I love James, Sirius, and Remus so much! But I honestly would have to say James, just because I love James and Lily together. But Sirius...he is just...oh my ;) There aren't even words for Sirius except maybe YUM, but I don't think that even does him enough justice :)_

_So, again, if you want to ask any questions, feel free! Anything you want to know :)_


	5. Sirius Conversations

_A/N: Here's another chapter my lovely readers! It's mainly a filler chapter, but I think it's really good character development... Well, let me know what you think by leaving my a review please!_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Sirius Conversations**

"Oh that's nice….WAIT! WHAT?" exclaimed Alice, launching herself off her bed at me as I was pulling on my stockings.

I had just told her and Marlene that I had agreed to be James's pretend girlfriend…obviously not the reaction I had hoped for, but there was nothing I could do about that.

Marlene was just sitting on her bed, staring at me disbelievingly.

"Well, we are friends, and Lizabeth is quite annoying when it comes to James…I couldn't say no!" I shouted defensively.

Merlin. Some friends they were. They were supposed to be supportive and encouraging.

"Lily, do you really think this is a good idea?" Marlene asked, finally breaking her silence.

"What?...I…of course. He's my friend! Friends help each other out." I exclaimed, repeating what James had told me when he was trying to get me to agree to this scheme in the first place.

"Yeah, you've mentioned that. But this is _James bloody Potter _we're talking about!"

I was confused. What was that supposed to mean? Marlene and Alice-who had stopped trying to claw my face off in shock- were watching me with wide eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I finally asked, looking back and forth between the two.

They exchanged a look and I got the feeling that they were somehow having a private little conversation between themselves, excluding me purposely.

"Lily," Alice said hesitantly. I huffed. This is what I get for letting them in on the secret? An intervention type talk? "Well, the thing is, James has been totally in love with you since first year! And now all of a sudden he needs a 'fake girlfriend'?"

Oh for the love of Merlin, this was ridiculous!

"James was never in love with me, for one." I retorted indignantly. Although he had claimed that he was in love with me and that we were meant to be together forever all during third and fourth years….but that was irrelevant. "And secondly, I've already discussed this with him. He told me the only feelings he had for me are as friends."

Marlene snorted. "Of course he isn't going to admit it and be all, 'Oh yeah Lily, I am still totally and completely in love with you and this is all a ploy to try and get you to fall in love with me.'!" He's going to tell you what he knows you want to hear!"

Okay, I was so fed up with this. It wasn't fair that they were ganging up on me. It was all pretend anyways, and they were wrong about James.

"We'll see. I'll prove you both wrong, and so will James. Me and him are friends. That's it!"

Ugh! Why did girl-friends have to be so bloody frustrating? I loved them both to death but they drove me up the wall and back the majority of the time.

"Fine Lily! Be stubborn and pig-headed like always and choose to ignore the signs that are right in front of you." Marlene shouted after me as I stormed out of our shared dormitory. I knew she was wrong and I couldn't wait to prove it to her.

Not watching where I was going in my anger, I ran straight into Sirius Black, who had been heading towards the portrait hole at the same time as me. Surprisingly, he was alone.

"Oi. Just my luck." I grumbled, rubbing my nose, which had smacked against Sirius's extremely hard shoulder.

"You okay Evans?" Sirius asked, trying as hard as he could to hold back his laughter at my clumsiness.

"Bloody fantastic, thanks for your concern." I said with all the sarcasm that I could possibly put into the sentence.

"Looking for your boyfriend?" Sirius questioned in a sing-song voice.

"Not before breakfast, Black." I warned, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Ohhhh…that's right. Wouldn't want to bring out the temper of the red-headed dragon, now would we?" Sirius bumped my shoulder playfully, his signature smirk on his face. All the Marauders-except Peter-seemed to have signature smirks.

I was glad that Sirius didn't let my anti-social morning tendencies get to him. Truthfully, the Marauders were the only ones who could make me laugh no matter what mood I was in. They just had that personality…you could be madder than a Hungarian Horn-tail in its worst mood, and they could have you laughing in minutes.

"Oh shut it Black, I'm not that bad." I laughed as we exited the portrait hole. He just laughed.

We walked on for a bit in companionable silence, making our way to the Great Hall for our breakfast. I kept thinking back to what Marlene and Alice had said about James creating this big plot to try and get me to fall in love with him. That was just too unbelievable. James did not, and had never really loved me. It had been a silly little infatuation, but we had both moved past that, and we were friends now. I chuckled a little at the silliness of what they had said to me this morning.

"What are you laughing about Evans?" Sirius asked, looking at me curiously.

"Just something Marlene and Alice said to me. It's nothing really, just silly rubbish."

"Well, you've got me all interested now. Spill it."

"They think James is asking me to pretend to be his girlfriend because he is secretly still in love with me and he wants to try and get me to fall in love with him." I sighed. I felt my cheeks burn with a tell-tale blush. It was so embarrassing, even though I knew it wasn't true.

"Hmmm." Sirius said under his breath, not meeting my eyes.

"Hmmm? That's all you're going to say? I tell you all that, and all you have to say is hmm?" His reaction was the total opposite of what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to tell me that Marlene and Alice were way off in their assumptions, that James had no feelings for me whatsoever. But he wasn't telling me that. _Why wasn't he telling me that? _

"Well I don't have anything to say about that. Do I have to have an opinion on every little thing that people say?" Sirius asked.

"No, of course not, but usually you have the loudest opinion on every single thing that happens and every little thing that people say in this castle. I would think, being that this involves your best mate, that you would have more of an opinion than hmmm."

Sirius just raised his eyebrows, not saying anything else. I rolled my eyes. He was so difficult, but I still loved him. He really was a good friend to me, I could count on his for tons of things and he always followed through.

"So where is James anyways? Usually the two of you are stuck like glue." I said, changing the subject because Sirius obviously wasn't going to say any more about it.

We had reached the Great Hall then, and Sirius pointed in front of us, towards the Gryffindor table.

"There he is. He didn't want to wait while I got ready-looking this good does come naturally, but it still takes a little work to maintain the perfection," Sirius smirked, pushing his black locks away from his face. "He decided to come down and get some breakfast with Remus without me, bloody gits, those two are."

I laughed. Sirius was the only boy I knew who took an hour to get ready. He was so obsessed with his hair, I bet he would have a heart attack if anything ever happened to it. I looked to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was James and Remus.

James was laughing about something Remus had said, his head thrown back and his shoulders shaking. I could see from where I was that is hair was as messy as it always was, and that his tie was as loose as it could possibly be without being untied. James was just predictable like that, but I wasn't complaining.

Even I, Lily Evans, had to admit that he was handsome. He had a strong jaw, which always had a little bit of stubble on it when he forgot to shave or to magic the hair away, his hazel eyes were gorgeous-and so easy to get lost in. I would find myself staring into his eyes for minutes at a time, just trying to pick out all the different colors that were fighting for dominance in his iris. And his body…well, Quidditich really kept a person fit, that's for sure. But it wasn't like that with James. I could notice all those things, but we were just friends. Nothing would ever happen between us, I would make sure of that.

"So, Evans, you ready for your big debut as the girlfriend of the legendary James Potter?" Sirius grinned, nudging me out of my thoughts with an elbow to the ribs.

"It's not going to be that big of a deal, Sirius." I said, rolling my eyes. He acted like this was a task worthy of being used in the Triwizard Tournament or something.

"Oh Lily, you think that now. Just wait until people know. You'll come crawling back to me, asking for advice, and I get to be the one to say I told you so. It's going to be bloody hilarious."

I sighed. Those boys and their egos. "C'mon Black, let's go eat some breakfast before you make me want to kill you, yeah?"

He chuckled again. "Yeah Evans, sounds good to me. Smells even better."

_A/N: So, like I said, this was mainly a filler chapter, but it was good for character development, or so I thought..._

_Now, please review. You see that little button down there? Yeah its looking at you with the cutest puppydog eyes amyone can imagine, begging you to click it and leave a review. How can you possibly say no? :D_


	6. The RuleBreaking Kiss

_A/N: Here's another chapter uploaded for you wonderfully amazing readers. :) I really hope you like it! _

_Please, let me know what you think in a review! Likes/dislikes, questions, comments, concerns, constructive criticisim. Anything and everything is welcomed and wanted :)_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**The Rule-Breaking Kiss**

Halfway to the Gryffindor table, James looked up and saw Sirius and me walking towards them. He smiled, his whole face lighting up and I couldn't help but smile back. He just had that effect on me whenever I was around him.

"Oh gross." Sirius groaned. I turned to look at him, confused.

"What are you saying gross about?"

"The two of you! You aren't even…you know…really together and you look at each other all lovey-dovey like. A couple of loons, you lot."

"We do not look at each other all lovey-dovey! It is strictly a friend zone wherever James and I are concerned, thank you very much." I retorted. Him too? Merlin, at this rate I'd have everyone in the school-including the professors-thinking I was a bloody imbecile.

Sirius shook his head, not saying anything else on the matter. I sighed. This year was going to be complicated. I just hoped that Marlene and Alice would stop being mad at me soon, because I already knew this situation was going to give me plenty of things to vent about, and there was no way I could vent to anyone but my best friends.

I sat beside James, nodding a hello to Remus.

"Goodmorning." I said as I reached for a pumpkin juice, my favorite.

James grinned at me. "Morning Lils."

"Morning." Remus said quietly after he swallowed his mouthful of food.

"Moony, Prongs, fantastic morning, yeah?" Sirius said, somehow managing to smirk and shovel large amounts of food into his mouth at the same time. That boy had talent, I swear.

James and Remus shook their heads, laughing.

I scanned the room, my eyes landing on the Ravenclaw table. There was Lizabeth, and she was looking our way. I felt my stomach tighten. Could I do this? I wondered, feeling a little skeptical. Sure, I was the top of my class, I was Head Girl, I was the most predictable girl in all of Hogwarts history. But could I be James's girlfriend?

James, probably having felt my body stiffen, turned his attention back to me. "What is it Lily? Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine James. Lizabeth is just looking our way, that's all. Remember, we have to make this believable, but no kissing okay?"

James nodded, glancing over towards Lizabeth who had narrowed her eyes at our exchange. I took a deep breath, not quite able to believe what I was doing, and ran a hand through James's hair casually, smiling up at him.

He looked at me, frozen for a second, before his shocked expression melted into a carefree grin. Wow, his hair was really soft, and he smelt so good. I pulled my hand back and scooted closer to him, narrowing the gap between our bodies. James put his arm around my shoulder gently, and the weight was strangely comfortable.

"Erm…did I miss something?" Peter squeaked, looking from James to Lily and back again, his brow furrowed and his nose twitching. He looked more and more like a rat everyday…I thought.

The three Marauders and I burst out laughing at Peter's shocked expression. Apparently they had forgotten to tell him what was going on last night. I was just happy Marlene and Alice hadn't found out like that, even if their reactions were far from pleasant.

"I'll have to fill you in later Wormtail, but not here. Just know that it's not at all what you think." Sirius said between laughs.

Peter nodded his head and sat down, though he still looked confused.

We ate the rest of our meal in silence and when the benches moved away from the table to signal the end of breakfast, James and I stood quickly. It was like we could read each other's minds, and the only thing we were thinking was: Stay as far away from Lizabeth for as long as possible. She had looked livid by the end of her meal, but she seemed to be refraining from making her way over to us.

James looked at the other Marauders, then at me. "We'll meet you guys in Defense Against the Dark Arts, yeah?"

Remus nodded, realizing what was going on, but Sirius looked like he was about to protest. Remus placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him and nodded his head at us.

"Go on ahead, we'll catch up. Hope you get there before, well, you know."

I smiled appreciatively. Remus was a really great bloke. He made a great prefect and an amazing friend. I was so happy that he didn't let his 'furry little problem' as James and Sirius liked to call it, get in the way of the rest of his life. Yet I still felt so bad because Remus hadn't deserved that kind of life. He deserved so much better.

I sighed, shaking the thoughts out of my head as James grabbed my hand and we headed to the entrance of the Great Hall together, making our way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

I saw Lizabeth trying to cut her way through the crowds to get to us, and I increased my pace, pulling James along with me. I exhaled a breath of relief when we finally lost her in the crowd that was outside the Great Hall, and James ensured that we really wouldn't run into her by pulling me into one of the many secret passages that Hogwarts had-this one leading straight to the corridor that our classroom was in.

Professor Baggs smiled when we entered the classroom. "Oh, how nice of our Head students to be prompt in showing up to class. I see Professor Dumbledore made a nice pairing." She stated, not unkindly.

I smiled at her. She really was a good teacher, albeit a little young. She was beautiful, to boot. Most of the boys were left drooling at her feet, and the girls were either trying to copy her look or hating her for being so gorgeous.

I even found myself being a little jealous sometimes, comparing my average height, average weight, red haired, green eyed self to her tall, willowy, black haired, shockingly blue eyed self. I looked like Christmas incarnated, and she looked like every man's perfect fantasy.

"I know why he picked Lily, but as to why he picked me, well that's something I'm sure everybody is curious about." James said modestly. Sure, I had wondered why at first, but now I knew. He was a natural leader. People followed him, looked up to him, and adored him. I had seen the looks on the younger students' faces when he so much as nodded at them. He had an effect on people, and most of the time, it was a good one.

"Oh, don't be so modest James." I smiled, realizing we were still holding hands, I gave his fingers a squeeze. He grinned at me, his eyes sparkling.

Professor Baggs's smile got wider when she watched the exchange. "Ah, young love is in the air I see."

I blushed. Why did everyone have to mention love? We were just a couple, there was nothing that said love was involved. And we weren't even a real couple in the first place. It was all a scam.

James smirked, clearly enjoying my discomfort at the mention of love. Bloody git.

Other students began to file into the classroom, including the other three Marauders, and the five of us made our way to the back of the room. James and I sat at one table, and the other three sat at the table to our left. Sirius, the possessive bloke, seemed a little put out that I had stolen his place next to James, but after a little reminding done by Remus, he came to terms and was busy picking on Peter.

Class passed quickly, and we got out without any homework for the night. I was glad about that because it meant that James and I could start making up the schedules for rounds, which was something that desperately needed to be done.

James grabbed my hand right before we walked out of the classroom and smacked into none other than Lizabeth Vane. I groaned. For the sake of Merlin and his pants, this was ridiculous. She was seriously pacing outside our classroom?

Her eyes narrowed to slits as they found James's hand clasped around mine. She crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.

"What is this all about?"

"Lizabeth, I told you, I'm not interested in you. Lily and I, well, we're together." James said a little awkwardly.

I felt my cheeks burning a fiery red. This was awful. What had we gotten ourselves into?

"Oh, is that so?" Lizabeth snapped, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"Yeah, that is so." I managed to say, feeling the need to involve myself in this, seeing how I was one of the people being discussed.

"Kiss." Lizabeth demanded with a sneer on her face.

I gaped at her. "Erm….excuse me?"

"You heard me! If you two are really together," she spat, "then you should have absolutely no problem sharing a kiss."

I turned to James, my eyes wide. Oh no, this was not good. Ugh! Why couldn't she have just accepted our 'relationship' and then skipped along, looking for another boy to stalk?

James was looking down at me, his eyes pleading. Merlin why did I have to be such a pushover?

Sighing, I stood on my toes, pecking him on the cheek. Again…with that smell of his. A mix of grass, and broom handle polish, and just pure James, natural boy smell. It was sooooo good.

Lizabeth sniggered. "You call that a kiss? If that's the best you've got, you need to work on your acting skills because I really don't believe that you are a couple."

I winced. What were we going to do? James had agreed to the no kissing clause! I was going to stick to my word, dammit!

I looked from Lizabeth-who had a triumphant smirk on her face-to James. His eyes were searching my face and I saw a flicker of something-what is was I had no clue-in his eyes.

"Sorry Lily. Please don't be too mad at me." He whispered.

Oh no. That was my last coherent thought before James leaned in, pressing his lips to mine-softly at first, and then harder.

I gasped, Merlin! His lips were so soft…and he was really skilled in the snogging department.

My hands traveled up and tangled themselves in his hair with a mind of their own. I felt the silky strands glide through my fingers once again.

James had one hand tangled in my hair, holding my head so I couldn't pull away-like I really wanted to!-and his other hand had somehow found its way to my lower back and was pressing my body closer to his.

I sighed as his tongue explored my mouth. Bloody hell I was turning to pudding in his arms.

Before I knew it, he pulled away and took a step back. He looked as shaken as I felt.

I blushed, unable to meet his gaze. Quite the crowd had gathered around us, and I could hear Sirius whistling cat calls from a ways down the hallway. Remus and Peter were just standing there, looking a little shocked. Yeah, well, they had no idea what shock really was….

Lizabeth was standing there, her mouth open and her eyes burning with hatred-for me. Wonderful.

"Enjoy the show?" I glared. This was all her fault. I couldn't believe I had kissed James Potter. She just stood there, looking from me to James, back and forth.

I stepped closer to her. I had to play the part before I could freak out. It was all for show anyways.

"Now, I'd appreciate it if you backed the hell off my boyfriend, okay?"

Lizabeth, snapped out of her shocked state by the venom in my voice, retorted, " I still don't buy your little act, Evans. You're goody two shoes, Miss Predictable. James is my soul mate. He doesn't belong with you, and I WON'T give up that easily."

She turned on her heel then and stomped away. I stood there for a minute, gathering my thoughts.

It was all a part of the act Lily, it meant nothing…don't read too much into it, James was just acting to convince Lizabeth…just like we talked about…

When I was composed, I turned to James. He was slouched against the wall, his head in his hands. Sirius, Remus, and Peter started making their way towards us, but I waved them away. After a moment of deliberation, they nodded and began making their way to class.

"Er…James?" I said tentatively.

He looked up. "Lils, I'm sorry. I know you said…well, what you said," he covered, noticing the few students that were still hanging around, watching us.

I shrugged, smiling at him reassuringly. "It's okay James. I realize that I was being a little unrealistic when I said that."

After all, we had to make it all look convincing or it would be for nothing. James had done the right-albeit awkward-thing for the situation.

James grinned at me and I took his hand, pulling him away from the wall.

"C'mon then James, let's get to class. Even though we are Head students, we can get detention for tardies."

James threw his arm over my shoulder. "Okay, love. Let's go."

_A/N: Soooo? Was it up to your expectations? Please let me know in a review! Remember, Reviews=updates._

_The more reviews, the more updates, and the faster the updates. I know I upload one chapter a day on a regular basis, but that is only because I love you readers, and because I have been getting reviews. So keep it up please!_


	7. Schedules and Sweets

_A/N: Thank you all for the amazing responses to the last chapter! I was hoping you would all like it, and apparently you did! Please, keep it up and review! You are all amazing! :)_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Schedules and Sweets**

Later that night, James and I sat on the loveseat in front of the fire, trying to map out a schedule for rounds. It was harder than I had imagined it would be, and apparently James thought so too if the way he ran his hand through his hair for the twentieth time was any indication.

"Okay so we have Remus and Emma, two Hufflepuffs, and two Slytherins left to pair up."

"Why don't we just match them according to houses?" James questioned, looking a bit frustrated. I knew how he was feeling.

"James, do you honestly think it would be a good idea to have two Slytherins on patrol together?" I raised my eyebrow at him.

"When you put it that way, then no. But we can't put Remus with a Slytherin, I couldn't do that to him. And poor Emma, they'd torment her beyond belief."

I groaned. Why did this have to be so frustrating and difficult?

"Fine, I'll be paired with one of them, and you can be paired with the other. I know that separates us doing rounds together…"

"No!" James shouted, interrupting me and drawing the attention of a few fourth years over to us. "I am not going to let you do rounds with a Slytherin, Lily. You know how cruel they are, and the things they say. I won't risk one of them hurting you while you're patrolling together."

I sat there, shocked. James was serious, and I had never seen him get so fired up before, except for the time Severus had called me a Mudblood. It was sort of sweet, him not wanting me to have to deal with the nasty comments that would be made if a Slytherin-a pureblood wizard-was stuck with me-a muggle born.

I felt myself blush and I looked away from him, towards the entrance to the common room. Marlene and Alice had just stepped into the room, looking pretty happy. My smile turned to a frown and I looked away quickly, not wanting them to see me looking at them.

I wondered if they were still mad at me. I hoped not because I really needed to talk to them about that kiss. I was going crazy, having kept it bottled up all day while still having to hold hands and act affectionate with James. I needed some chocolate and some girl talk, and I needed it now.

James, having watched the exchange, smiled a little. "Go on Lily. I'll have Remus help me put the rest of the people in pairs. You go and talk to your friends."

"Are you sure James?" I asked. I felt bad for just leaving him-I had no clue where the other Marauders were, probably off getting into trouble-but I desperately wanted to make things right with Alice and Marlene.

He nodded his head, laughing quietly at me. I threw my arms around him, squeezing him with a hug. I didn't know if it was just me, or if he felt it too, but the hug felt…different than all the ones we had shared before. Something had changed between us, and I wasn't sure if it was good or bad. I blushed as I tried to laugh off the feeling, but I saw the curious look James gave me and my blush deepened.

It was silly, but I felt like just because he had kissed me-a fake kiss, at that-even the simplest of touches we shared had changed. It was very strange.

I stood and glanced back at James from the bottom of the stairs leading to the dormitory, where Alice and Marlene had disappeared to.

"Thank you." I mouthed.

He grinned at me and I caught a glimpse of that look in his eyes that I just couldn't seem to place before he shook his head and his eyes returned to normal.

"Goodnight Lily. See you in the morning."

James turned back to stare into the fire and I stood there, frozen at the foot of the stairs, taking in his handsome profile. I was truly a lucky girl to be such good friends with him and the rest of the Marauders. I hoped, more than anything else at the moment, that we could pull this off. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if we didn't manage it.

I heard the portrait swing open to reveal the entrance once again, and I turned back to the stairs. It was time to face the music, even if it wasn't going to be pretty.

Marlene and Alice were sitting on Alice's bed, talking and giggling over a huge pile of sweets from Honeydukes. Marlene always had a stash of candy for girly emergencies somewhere in the dorm, and she re-stocked it every time we had a trip to Hogsmeade. I remembered every time any of us had a problem, Marlene would bring out the candy and we would all curl up on a bed and make ourselves sick as we ate and talked all night. Those were some of my favorite memories with them.

As soon as they saw me, they got quiet. I winced. Apparently they were still mad at me. I had to do it though, I had to make things right again. They were my best friends for Merlin's sake.

"Marlene, Alice…I'm sorry that I made you so mad at me. I'm sorry that you think I'm an idiot and have no clue why I agreed to help James out, but it was really something I had to do. Maybe you don't agree, but I hope you can forgive me."

Marlene sighed. "Lily, we aren't mad at you! We just…we don't want you to get caught up in some scheme James made up just to try and get into your pants."

Alice nodded wildly. "Lil, you have to understand, it's a little fishy. The boy is obviously in love with you. He had been since first year."

"You guys really don't get it. We are just friends! All of this was my idea, indirectly. I never meant for me to be the girl, but I told James that he needed to get a girlfriend to get Lizabeth to back off. He isn't interested in anyone, apparently, so I ended up being his fake girlfriend. It's really nothing like you think it is." I exclaimed, exasperated. Why was everyone incapable of accepting the fact that James and I were just friends?

"I heard you had a pretty steamy kiss in the corridor outside DADA today. If it's all fake, then why did you kiss him?" Marlene questioned, narrowing her eyes.

I groaned. Of course, that rumor had to have spread that quickly. "Lizabeth demanded it Marly. It was awkward and weird okay, I felt nothing."

Oh you liar! I thought to myself, mentally cursing myself and bashing myself over the head. If that was true, then you wouldn't have butterflies in your stomach and weak knees just thinking about the kiss.

Uh oh, this could be bad. I felt my face warming, another tell-tale sign that I was blushing. So what if he was a bloody fantastic snogger though? A girl would have to have no nerves in her body to not be affected by James Potter's lips pressing against hers.

"Whatever Lily, I don't want to argue with you about this. We're friends, and I will support you, no matter how stupid I think you're being." Marlene consented. She scooted over and her and Alice moved the pile of candy on the bed, clearing a spot for me.

I smiled. Even if they did think what I was doing was foolish, at least they were talking to me. Plus, they had so much chocolate.

I sat down, crossing my feet under me. Alice tossed me a chocolate frog and I tore it open, savoring the taste of chocolate on my tongue when I took a bite.

"So, was it really that awkward? Kissing him, I mean." Alice questioned, popping a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into her mouth.

Before I could answer, her face contorted and she leaned over the side of the bed and spat into the trash bin.

"What flavor did you manage to eat now?" Marlene chuckled.

Alice, having cleared her mouth of the foul candy, shivered. "I think I got a puke, and boogey, and grass, all in one mouthful."

Marlene and I burst into laughter and Alice shortly joined in, not able to deny the humor in the situation.

I felt so much better now that I knew I had my two best friends back to normal again. Sure, they thought I was being a git, but they would come around eventually. I would make them see sense.

We sat like that, crammed on Alice's bed, eating sweets, late into the night. Oh, how I loved girl bonding time.

_A/N: Okay, so nothing really happened in this chapter, but I hope you liked it anyways!_

_Please please please REVIEW! :D_


	8. Confessions and Chocolate Comas

_A/N: Sorry it took a little longer for me to update this chapter my lovely readers! I try to do daily updates, but the flu was circling around my family and the past two days were my lucky days :( But! I am better now, and I have this new and slightly longer chapter to offer :) I hope you like it. _

_I wrote sort of a flash back to the night before this chapter in the chapter itself, and I hope you'll be able to make sense of it, but if it's confusing to you, just review and ask me whatever you didn't understand or get and I'll find a way to answer your questions. :D_

_Now, Happy Reading! Hope youi enjoy! xx_

**Confessions and Chocolate Comas**

I woke up to a bright light shining in through the window and a dead silence. That was strange, I thought. Usually Marlene and Alice were obnoxiously loud in the mornings. I groaned and stretched, rolling over to look at the small clock that was perched on my bedside table. 9:00 a.m.

Oh my mother of Merlin! I had missed breakfast! Classes were starting right now, I, Lily Evans, Head Girl, was going to be late. I was never late. It was incomprehensible. I jumped out of bed and looked around frantically for my wand. I had fallen asleep in my school robes last night, apparently, and I didn't really have time to bother changing. It wasn't like my robes were filthy dirty or anything.

Having finally located my wand, I jammed it into the pocket of my outer robes and scooped up my book bag, making my way out of the door as I threw my wild red locks up into a messy pony-tail. I probably looked like something out of a child's nightmare, but I really didn't care at the moment. My stomach was grumbling loudly and I had to get to Potions in the next three seconds unless I wanted detention. I moaned. What in the name of Merlin had I been doing last night to sleep in this late and feel this disoriented? Then I remembered.

"Marls, Lily, I have something to confess to you." Alice said a little sheepishly, avoiding our eyes and instead examining the chocolate frog she seemed to be debating on eating or not.

"Spill it then, don't leave us hanging here." Marlene said as she grabbed a licorice pop from the pile of sweets.

I leaned forward, examining the pile of goods. There was so much to choose from! "Alice, c'mon enough with the suspense building already." I added as I finally picked up my own chocolate frog. The one Alice was still holding had been tempting me the whole time.

"Don't be mad that I didn't tell you sooner….but, Frank Longbottom and I have been, well…together since the middle of summer." Alice mumbled as she shoved her chocolate frog into her mouth halfway through her sentence. Her cheeks was flaming brightly, and she still wouldn't meet our eyes.

This news didn't shock me so much, because I knew that Frank had had a crush on Alice all last year, something the Marauders had let me in on, seeing how they had to share a dorm with him until Sirius disgusted him enough and he asked McGonagal for a different dormitory. Marlene, on the other hand, was surprised beyond belief.

"Merlin's bloody chest hair Alice! You've been in a relationship….with Longbottom….since summer….AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?" she shouted, throwing her arms in the air wildly. Alice whimpered and pulled a pillow in front of her, as if to shield herself from Marlene's flailing.

"Marlene! She didn't have to tell us the moment they got together. Maybe they decided they wanted to keep it between them for a little bit, yeah? You didn't tell us when you were snogging Sirius Black back in fifth year until we found you crying after he ditched you for that seventh year now did you?"

Marlene froze as my words sank in. I felt bad for using that example on her, because I knew that Sirius ditching her like he did had hurt, but it was basically the same situation. Even if Alice and Frank had a hell of a greater chance of lasting together than Marlene and Sirius could ever have hoped for.

"Right," Marlene sighed, settling back down into the bed. "Sorry Alice, didn't mean to go bonkers on you there."

Alice grinned a little, sensing that Marlene needed to be cheered back up. "It's okay Marly. I probably should have told you two sooner, but it was just so romantic, sneaking around behind everyone's backs and snogging in secret places. You have no idea."

"Actually, I do Ali." Marlene smirked.

I rolled my eyes. Whoop-di-do. Both my friends had secretive snogging rendezvous to brag about, and I had a total of one kiss to speak of. Sadly enough, I had gotten that kiss as James Potter's fake girlfriend.

After a few minutes of Marlene and Alice giggling over who's kisses were better and me stuffing my face with even more chocolate that it should be humanly possible to consume, Marlene got quiet, a serious look on her face.

"What is it Marlene?" I asked, looking up from my sticky fingers to her face.

"Well, Alice made a confession tonight, so I might as well too," she sighed, burying her face in her hands. "I think I still fancy Sirius."

My eyes got wide, as did Alice's. Marlene still fancied the boy who had broken her heart? But she acted so…indifferent when we were hanging out with them, or helping with the few pranks they let us in on. She just acted as if nothing had ever happened, like they were just friends.

"But…you don't act like that around him at all." I stated slowly. Wow, this was a shock. Marlene rarely ever admitted her true feelings-she wasn't a very gushy girl talk kind of girl-but when she did, it was usually always big. This didn't disappoint.

"Of course I don't Lily! I'm not going to go around acting like a lovesick puppy, making a fool of myself. Sirius, he hates it when girls do that. Sure he loves it when girls fawn over him and dote on him and worship him, but not when they follow him around, acting all in love with him." Marlene retorted, taking her head out of her hands.

"Why don't you talk to him about it? I mean, if you really fancy him, then you should give it a try." Alice suggested.

"I can't just talk to him about it! You wouldn't understand. Sirius is complicated." Marlene groaned. "Lily, I need your help with this. You have to get James to talk to him, find things out, ask him about me."

I grimaced. Really? She wanted me to drag James into this? But, Marlene was one of my best friends. I would do anything to make her happier, or to help her out.

"Okay Marls, I'll talk to him tomorrow." I agreed reluctantly. It seemed like I had agreed to do more for other people this year, in the three days we had been back at Hogwarts, than I had in the first six years of my life in the castle. Seventh year was definitely taking a turn for complicated and interesting, that was for sure.

"Thank you Lily! You have no idea how much this means to me." Marlene said as she hugged me. I returned the gesture and grinned at Alice, who was smiling at us fondly.

"Alright you two. I propose that, due to our deep confessions tonight, we stay up until every last bite of this pile of sweets is gone. And while we put ourselves into a chocolate coma, Lily, you MUST dish about the kiss." Alice exclaimed.

I glared at her. Of course she would. Nobody was going to let me live that down, especially Marlene and Alice. It would probably all play into the thoughts that James was secretly in love with me. They would twist it somehow, I knew they would. But seeing no way to get out of the situation, and not really wanting to abandon the sweets still covering most of the bed, I sighed and made myself a little more comfortable, ready to answer whatever questions they had with whatever answer I deemed acceptable.

I groaned and rubbed my stomach as I raced through the corridors, making my way down to the dungeons. I didn't think I could ever look at a piece of chocolate again without feeling queasy. Marlene and Alice were definitely going to pay for this, and it was going to be good. I wasn't sure what I would do just yet, but I wasn't against enlisting the Marauders to help me figure something out.

I was late. I was going to get a detention. The first detention I had ever gotten in my whole life at Hogwarts. Head Girls just didn't get detentions. I didn't get detentions.

I had finally reached the dungeons, and I paused for a second, trying to catch my breath a little before walking into the class. Professor Slughorn was most likely giving one of his good morning speeches, and the rest of the students were probably talking or sleeping or staring off into space, but I would have to be the one student who walked in late, interrupting the class. How mortifying.

After finally catching my breath, I opened the door. It creaked, of course, and every person in the room turned to stare at me. I felt my cheeks enflame and I groaned inwardly.

"What have we here?" Slughorn asked jovially, stepping out from behind his desk and walking toward me, letting his rather large stomach lead the way.

"I-Sorry sir, I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just a little late this morning."

"Oh, Lily dear, it's you! Don't worry about it, not at all. You're an exceptional girl, you'll go far. One silly little tardy won't damage your reputation with me dear."

I smiled and blew of a breath of relief. Thank Merlin for Slughorn and his pushover qualities. I really hadn't been looking forward to that detention. If it had been any other teacher, I surely would have gotten one, but as it happened, I seemed to be one of Slughorn's favorites. Sometimes being a know-it-all had its advantages.

"Thank you sir." I said sincerely. He smiled and patted my shoulder before turning and making his way back to the front of the class. I followed and took my seat beside James, who raised an eyebrow at me curiously. Sirius and Remus, who we also shared a table with, were looking up with curiosity, Remus with a bit of concern and Sirius with a broad smirk on his face.

"Oi! Has Evans finally broken out of her goody-two-shows shell and decided to show up late to class? And what's up with the wild sex-hair?" Sirius questioned.

I put a hand up to my hair self-consciously. Wild sex-hair? What was he talking about?

"Shut up Padfoot. You're hair looks fine Lily." Remus reassured her, elbowing Sirius in the ribs as he did so. Sirius winced and rubbed the spot he had been hit in.

"Why're you so late Lils? That's not like you." James asked, his gaze running over her messy hair, wrinkled robes, and unmade up face.

"I overslept." I mumbled, pulling out my copy of Advanced Potion Making.

He looked like he wanted to question me further but I shot him a look that clearly portrayed my thoughts that his questions would not be welcomed at the moment. James raised his hands in the sign of surrender and I smiled a little.

Did they always have to make me smile when I was in a bad mood? Why wasn't I allowed to just have a day of bitchiness? Or was that not allowable for Lily Evans? Did I seriously have to be happy all the bloody time?

Sirius leaned forward again, clearly recovered from Remus's attack on his ribs, his elbows on the table.

"Evans, who's bed did you crawl out of this morning? Oh, wait, you are James are together now aren't you? Funny, I didn't see you in our dorm this morning…" he whispered quietly enough that only the people at the same table could hear.

I glared at him. What a prick. He was a good friend, at times, but then again he was a total git.

"No, Sirius, I was not climbing out of any bloke's bed this morning. I had a _much _better time with the girls. See, we had a slumber party," I retorted, grinning wickedly as I invented a story in my mind. Oh, this would get him good, and it would help Marlene out too. Leave him thinking about her all day long. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table in the mirror image of him. "You know what happens at those right, Black?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you girls get all emotional and talk about feelings while you paint your toes or something."

James and Remus snorted and I rolled my eyes. Assuming arse.

"No, at our slumber parties-meaning mine, Marlene's, and Alice's- there's pillow fights, and chocolate, and by pajamas, we mean bras and panties only. Our way of having a slumber party is so much more fun, and sometimes we get a little tipsy from the Firewhiskey we have stashed in our dorm. Too bad you missed out, yeah?"

I leaned back in my chair, smirking at my brilliant lie. If only Sirius knew we had actually been talking about him, and Marlene, and her feelings for him. But this version was much better.

I laughed as Sirius sat back, his mouth hanging open. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. I glanced over at James and Remus, who were fighting back their laughter. They had obviously been smart enough to realize I was just messing around with Sirius, and they were in on the joke now. It was always great to prank a prankster.

The joke was soon over when Professor McGonagal walked into the room though. We all went silent, not wanting to be reprimanded by our Head of House when we weren't even in her class. I wondered what she was doing here as I watched her stride purposefully up to Professor Slughorn and pull him to the side. Slughorn nodded and McGonagal smiled and tight-lipped smiled, thanking him. Strange.

"Wonder what Minnie's doing down here in the dungeons." Sirius mused, distracted from the sick fantasy I was created for him for the moment.

James snorted at the pet name Sirius had taken to calling McGonagal, even to her face. It was just too amusing to sit there and listen to Sirius talk almost affectionately about a teacher.

"She's coming over here mates. Padfoot, did you do something stupid again?" Remus asked, sitting up a little straighter. My hand flew to my hair again, trying to tame the wildness to no avail.

"What? I never do anything stupid."

"Oh for the love of Merlin that is the biggest lie I've heard in a while."

Before Sirius could respond to that, Professor McGonagal was standing at the edge of the table, looking at me and James in the seriously scary way that she had. I had always had the thought that her Animagus should be a hawk instead of a cat, but I had never voiced my opinion.

"Evans, Potter, if you would follow me please. Bring your things, as well." She said before she turned on her heel and started towards the door.

I looked at James, wondering if he knew what this was about. He looked just as confused as I did so I shrugged and grabbed my bag, shoving my Potions book back inside. James did the same and we followed McGonagal out the door cautiously, shrugging at Remus and Sirius as we went.

_A/N: So there was the newest chapter. Did you like it? I really hope so! So please, leave me a review tellling me what you like/dislike about the story so far, questions, concerns, comments. Everything you say will be taken into considerations when I am writing the coming chapters! Your interests matter to me, so make them known! :)_

_Also, let me know who your favorite character is, and why! I am interested to know, because you are all amazing, reading this story of mine, and I feel like getting to know you a little more, in a non-creepy, non-stalkerish way :D And favorite characters can say a LOT about a person!_

_-Some girls want the hot jock, the homecoming king, the football player. I just want my fiction characters to be real. Life would be so much better with a James Potter, Sirius Black ,and Remus Lupin than Zac Efron, Justin Timberlake, and Justin Beiber. (No offense to anyone who likes any of those three actors, they were just randomly chosen names out of popular celebrities. I'd honestly rather have James anyday!)_


	9. Not In Trouble?

_A/N: Finally you get to find out just want Professor McGonagal wants. Hmmm I wonder if anyone guessed it? ;) Probably not though! I took a suggestion from a review and added a fun twist, so here it is. I hope you like it! _

_Happy Reading!xx_

**(Not) In Trouble?**

I followed James out of the Potions classroom nervously. What did Professor McGonagal want with us? She was walking briskly ahead of us, not looking back, just expecting us to follow her. Of course, we did.

Without thinking, I reached forward and grabbed James's hand. He looked down at our entwined fingers and up at me, a confused look on his face. I just shook my head, not knowing how to explain, and nodded towards McGonagal, who had finally realized that we were not directly behind her. She was standing at the end of the corridor, taping her foot impatiently as she crossed her arms over her chest.

We both sped up, not wanting to keep her waiting, but we kept our hands clasped together. The way I thought about it was that we had teachers to fool too, so we needed to keep up pretenses. James, on the other hand, hadn't have seemed to thought of that. Good thing I was the reliable one…

"The two of you aren't in trouble." McGonagal said, seeing our nervous looks. Her eyes widened a little in surprise when she saw our hands, which were still locked together, but it only lasted a second before her face returned to the unreadable stony state that it normally was.

I was confused. If we weren't in trouble, then why did she call us out of class?

James, thinking along the same lines as me, asked, "Well then why are we out of class?"

"As Head Boy and Girl, you have certain privileges. Now, because of the chaos in the wizarding world at this point in time, this was a little delayed, but I pulled you out of class to show you to your very own dormitories." McGonagal explained. "The two of you will share one dormitory. You will both have your own bedroom-and I choose to believe that you will stay in the one you belong to," she added with a pointed look at our hands once more. "Other than the two bedrooms, there is a bathroom, and a common room. It is strictly yours. Not for your friends' wild parties ."

James scoffed. "Why am I singled out for that?"

"You know exactly why." I laughed. He grinned down and me and I caught Professor McGonagal's lips twitching as she fought not to smile.

"Is there any questions, then?" she asked, once more composed. I couldn't help but wonder if she ever had any fun. I had only seen her looking strict and foreboding in my whole time at Hogwarts.

"Where is this Head dormitory, exactly?" I asked, looking around. I didn't see any doors or anything is this hallway. Only a suit of armor and a couple of portraits, that was all.

"Right here." She said, turning around to face a huge portrait of a beautiful moonlit lake. "Sir Galahad." She added in a clipped, annoyed voice.

A small man came trotting up closer to us from out of the thick trees in the background. He was leading a fat white horse and had a sword clutched in one hand.

"Who dares call the name of the greatest knight of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" he shouted, brandishing the sword.

I laughed, as did James, at this little display. He was the one guarding our dormitory? Even the horse snorted in what seemed like amusement before it plopped down heavily, jerking Sir Galahad backwards.

McGonagal rolled her eyes and sighed. "The password is wolfsbane."

Sir Galahad tried to protest but the horse bit him, and he swung the portrait forward, revealing a set of steep stairs leading up.

James and I followed McGonagal and we emerged in a huge common room filled with plush couches and chairs, a large fireplace that took up one entire wall, and a spiral staircase that most likely led to the bedrooms.

I gasped. It was amazing. The decorations were all scarlet and gold, the Gryffindor colors. The walls were golden and the carpets red. I couldn't really believe that I would be living here with James. Just the two of us.

I dropped James's hand and turned in a circle, admiring my surroundings. James began doing the same, looking just as awed as I was. I heard a chuckle escape McGonagal's lips and I stopped, turning back to look at her.

"So you like it then?" she asked, clearly pleased with herself.

I nodded vigorously and she actually smiled.

"Professor, this room is beautiful. I didn't know about the Head dormitory, but this is a pleasant surprise." I said, beaming.

I couldn't wait to go and get my things and actually move into my room. Sure, I would miss bunking with Alice and Marlene, but it wasn't like they weren't allowed to visit me here, and I could still go and see them in the actual Gryffindor common room. Plus, there were always classes and meals.

"Professor Dumbledore and I, along with the assistance of the houseelves of Hogwarts, have been working on it. We hoped you would like it, and apparently you do."

"This is bloody huge!" James exclaimed. "And it's just for the two of us?"

McGonagal nodded. "Your things have already been taken to your rooms, I expect you can find those on your own. I have to go teach my class now, but I wanted to get this out of the way before you returned to your previous dorms and discovered your things missing. You have to rest of this period to get acquainted, but I fully expect to see you in Transfiguration after lunch."

I nodded and James grinned, throwing himself down on one of the large couches. Professor McGonagal shook her head fondly and then exited the room, the portrait of the feisty knight swinging shut behind her.

"This is unbelievable!" I laughed as I moved James's feet off the couch and sat next to him.

"It's incredible though! I'm so glad I got Head Boy. I still don't know why I got it, but I don't really care."

I laughed again. The look on his face was like Christmas, Halloween, and his birthday were all on the same day and it had come early this year.

"Well you deserved it James. Honestly." I patted his thigh, which was pressed against mine. Merlin, he was really close. Close enough for me to smell his smell again, and let me tell you, it smelt really good.

He cleared his throat and shifted a little, having notice the small space between our bodies.

"Thanks Lily. So…you wanna go check out our rooms?" he asked, changing the subject and hopping up off the couch agilely.

"Erm…sure let's go." I said, feeling a little awkward. I didn't understand why he had gotten uncomfortable when I touch his leg. I had done it before and he didn't mind. It was just a friendly, reassuring gesture.

I pushed up from the couch and followed James up the stairs, marveling at the actuality of having my very own dorm with James Potter, my fake boyfriend. I knew people were going to talk, I could practically hear them already, but I decided not to let it phase me. I knew who I was and I knew what was real. They could make all the speculations that they wanted.

The first bedroom that we walked into was mine, seeing how my things were piled neatly at the end of the bed. I walked into the room, James following me inside, and looked around. It was as amazing as the common room, if not more.

There was a king sized bed in the very center of the room, draped in golden blankets and piled with pillows of all shapes and sizes. From the ceiling hung a canopy that enveloped the bed in transparent golden curtains that parted on both sides of the bed so I could enter from either side. There was an elegant mahogany wardrobe in the far corner of the room, a desk equipped with parchment, quills, and other necessities, with a large cushioned chair pushed into it, and across the room on the other side of the bed was a towering bookshelf. I was in love.

James whistled. "This is nice."

"This is more than nice. This is my dream room. It has everything I've ever wanted in a room. I wonder how they knew?"

"Dumbledore is like that. He seems to know everything sometimes."

"I'll have to make sure to thank him for this." I said, walking around the room and running my hands over the bed gently. It was so soft, I knew if I laid down right now I could stay in bed all day.

I turned. "C'mon then, let's see what you get."

James grinned and I pulled him out of the room. The second door on the landing-between the two bedrooms- was the bathroom, which was huge as well, with a large pool-like bathtub, a shower, and two sinks and two mirrors, and of course a toilet.

We walked into the third room- James's room-after checking out the bathroom and froze in shock. It was the complete opposite from mine in color. Instead of being golden and gorgeous, it was scarlet and mysterious.

It was still wonderful, but it was very different, which I guess was the point being that James was a boy and I was a girl. His bed was in the middle of the room too, with deep red blankets piled on top of it and the same assortment of pillows as I had. On the left hand side of the room was a large black wardrobe with intricate carvings of what looked to be a Quidditich game. The opposite side of the room had a very fancy broom closet-also black-with James's name carved into it.

James walked across the room and opened the broom closet. In it was his Quidditich uniform, his Nimbus 1000-the most expensive brooms in stores, a broom service kit, and a heavy box that held the balls for Quidditich. He looked over at me, beaming brightly.

"This is bloody freaking brilliant. Dumbledore is the best." He exclaimed.

I smiled back. "This room is amazing. I love that they didn't use the same colors for our rooms."

I walked over to his bed and sat down, sinking into the mattress. I moaned a little. It was the most comfortable bed I had ever sat on, seeing how I hadn't tested my own new one while I had been in my new room.

James looked at me, a strange look clouding his features again-the same look I had seen a few times in the past couple days that I just couldn't place-but in an instant it was gone again. He walked over and patted the bed.

"Comfortable?" he asked, clearing his throat when it came out a little gruffly.

"Mmmhhhmm. It's like a dream. C'mon sit down." I breathed, patting the bed beside me.

He shook his head. "I'm actually a little hungry, and I'm willing to bet you are too, having missed breakfast and all."

My stomach growled, answering for me. Still, I furrowed my brow. Why was James being so weird about being close to me now? Did I have cooties or dragon pox or something?

He laughed and nodded. "Right. How about we head down to the kitchens and grab something to eat yeah?"

I nodded slowly, sliding off the comfortable bed reluctantly. "Sure. Food sounds good to me."

We walked out of James's new room and back down the stairs.

"Do you think we'll have time to come back here before our next class or do you think we should bring our bags?" I asked, eyeing my bag, which I had abandoned by the couch.

"Nah, we'll have time, let's just leave 'em."

"Okay then." I nodded, smiling.

I walked over to the stairs that led to the entrance, James by my side.

"Exactly how do we get to the kitchens James?"

He smirked. "Us Marauders have our ways Lils. Just follow me okay?"

I shook my head. Of course the Marauders would know all the ways to the kitchen. I remembered them always showing up with food in the common room, even hours after meals, but I could never figure out where it came from. Now, apparently, I did, and I was on my way to seeing the exchange first hand.

I grinned. Today was a pretty good day after the way it had all started out.

_A/N: Was that what anybody was expecting? ;D I hope not because I wanted to surprise you! _

_Now, please review and tell me what you think! Likes/dislikes, questions, comments, you know the drill!_

_Remember, Reviews=faster updates and longer chapters! (Just something to keep in mind there.)_

_-I'd rather have my books over boys. So sue me. Books last a lifetime. How long do boys usually last? Until they get what they want or someone else comes along. At least I know my books will never cheat on me!_

_(Sorry for the seemingly anti-boy quote here guys. And if you are in a relationship, then that's wonderful. I have nothing against that, but there's this one boy, and he did me wrong so I'm a little venty here. :/ At least I have James and Sirius to cheer me up! And Remus to be the sympathetic, supportive one :D )_


	10. A Late Breakfast and an Almost Kiss

_A/N: Longest chapter yet! :) Thanks to all of the amazing reviews! I absolutely love all of you readers. You guys are making my days better and better with the amazing feedback. I hope I'm making your days a little bit more enjoyable by updating! :D_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**A Late Breakfast and an Almost Kiss**

I followed James through the corridors quietly, not wanting to draw attention to us, even though we had a teacher's permission to be out of class. We were halfway down one of the moving staircases when it started moving and I grabbed James's shoulders to steady myself.

He was a step below me so my eyes were level with his when he turned around and grabbed my waist. My shirt had ridden up and my skin tingled where his fingers gripped me.

Our eyes locked and I found myself remembering this kiss Lizabeth had forced us into. The kiss I couldn't seem to get out of my mind. His face was so close to mine, and again I smelled the grass and broom polish smell mixed with a scent that was purely James. I inhaled and sighed, biting my lip.

James had the most amazing eyes. People always told me they loved mine, but mine we're just plain green, nothing special. But James's, they were beautiful. The green and the gold flecks always seemed to be fighting for dominance in his hazel eyes. Today the gold was winning and as I started into his eyes I saw them darken considerably.

His breath was shallow and my heart started racing. Was he going to kiss me? Was I actually going to let him? I felt him start to lean closer to me and my eyelids began to flutter closed on their own accord.

I felt his warm, minty-smelling breath on my face and closed my eyes all the way. I couldn't think, I could only feel, and I was feeling the strangest combination of feelings ever. James's lips were only a centimeter away from mine when the stairs bumped into place and James and I were jostled apart.

My eyes jostled open and I took a stop back, pulling my shirt down to cover the bare expanse of my stomach that had been exposed when James grabbed my hips, my cheeks on fire.

James cleared his throat and looked to the top of the stairs.

"Erm, we should get going before the stairs move again. I know a way to the kitchens from this floor anyway."

"Oh, okay sure let's go then." I mumbled, embarrassed. Had I been about to kiss James Potter, my friend and fake boyfriend, with no one around? When it was completely unnecessary? What in the name of Merlin's mother was wrong with me? It must be all the chocolate I had last night, I rationalized. Eating excessive amounts of chocolate could really mess a person up.

We ran up the stairs quickly and started down the corridor, James observing the tapestries as we went. I didn't see how he would get us from the fifth floor all the way down to the kitchens this way, but I didn't say anything. I was still embarrassed about what had nearly transpired on the staircase.

"There it is!" James whispered loudly, pointing towards the end of the hallway.

"There what is?" I asked, looking for a door or a staircase maybe.

"You'll see." He replied, speeding up his gait.

I hurried behind him, still not knowing where we were going and a little hurt by the distance in his voice. He had almost kissed me not even five minutes ago, not he was going to be all cold and stony to me? Wonderful.

Being the fake girlfriend to James Potter was more than I had planned for, that was for sure.

We reached the end of the hall and stopped in front of a tapestry depicting some war or another, but when James pulled it back I realized it was covering a secret passageway. Of course James would know about all the secret passageways. I knew most of them, but this was a new one. I made a mental note to remember it, along with all the others.

James held the tapestry for me and after I stepped into the narrow walkway he followed, dropping it back into place.

"Lumos." I said into the pitch black, having grabbed my wand before James dropped the tapestry.

The passageway was suddenly illuminated and I saw that it led down a flight of stairs that were really steep.

"You first." I whispered, glancing back at James, who looked away from me quickly. I rolled my eyes and pressed myself against the wall to let him pass but no matter how much I sucked in every inch of our bodies touched as he slid past me.

We walked down the narrow passage in an uncomfortable silence. The further we went, the more uncomfortable I felt. Why were things so…forced with him now? It wasn't supposed to be like that. This little plan was going to go wrong, I could already tell. James was acting strange, I had almost kissed him, and now it was like we were in the forbidden forest, acting all silent and weird.

There was a wall up ahead, but James pulled out his wand and tapped a couple of the bricks and the wall melted away, opening into the corridor right outside of the kitchens.

James peaked his head out and looked around. "Coast is clear."

I followed him out of the passage, watching as the wall popped back into place a second later. We continued down the corridor to the huge doors leading into the kitchens. James tapped the large pear statue and the doors swung open, revealing a sight that I had never thought I would see in my life.

The kitchens were huge, to say the least, and every surface was sparkling. There were hundreds of houseelves bustling around, some cooking, some cleaning, others rushing food to the cooking elves and back into the pantry.

I looked at James, eye wide. "This is unbelievable. I had no idea there were so many houseelves here. "

He laughed, some of the usual gleam back in his eyes, replacing the unfamiliar stony expression.

"Well, with as many students as Hogwarts has, they're all needed."

"Obviously, I just had no idea." I retorted amusedly.

Before he replied a loud pop sounded and I jumped a little, looking around to see what the sound was from. There was a tiny little houseelf standing in front of us, her eyes big and round and adorable. Some people thought the little creatures were ugly, and granted, some of them were, but a lot of them were cute. This one included.

"'Ello Mr. Potter, sir. And Miss. How can Dorey help you?" she asked, bowing graciously.

"Dorey, I told you, call me James. We're friends here." James smiled down at the little elf warmly and she smiled back up at him.

"Sorry Mr. James. Now, what can Dorey get for you today, sir?"

James shook his head, laughing quietly. "What do you fancy having?" he asked, looking over at me.

I pondered the question. I didn't really care, I was just hungry. "You pick. You've been down here before, I haven't."

Dorey watched the exchange with wide eyes and nodded understandingly. "Is this Miss Lily, Mr. James?" she questioned.

I laughed. How in the world did she know my name? I looked over at James, who seemed to be blushing a little bit. "Yes, this is Lily Dorey."

"How did you know who I was?" I asked, seriously curious. Dorey looked from James to me.

"Oh, a houseelf hears things, that's all miss."

For some reason I didn't believe her. Maybe it was the look of relief that crossed James's face, or the fact that he had blushed when she ask if I was Lily. Something just didn't add up to her innocent response.

Before I could question her further, James turned to me.

"Are you feeling more like breakfast or lunch right now?" he asked.

"Well, lunch is after our next class, so we'll be able to catch that. A light breakfast sounds good to me."

"Okay, Dorey I think we'll have some pancakes and bacon. Oh, and some pumpkin juice please."

Mmmm pancakes and bacon sounded so good. It was my favorite breakfast at home, and my mom would always make the pancakes especially for me when I was home. Petunia wouldn't eat them because of her diet-she probably thought she had to be a stick to balance out her relationship with a walrus-so mom didn't get to make them unless I was home.

I sighed, remembering, and James raised an eyebrow questioningly. I shook my head.

"Just remembering home." Was all I said.

He nodded in understanding and walked over to a little table that was set up in the middle of the room. I followed and took a seat across from him, crossing my arms and setting them on the table.

"Lily, what happened on the stairs…what was that exactly?" he asked after a minute, staring down at the table as he ran a hand through his hair.

That's what I wanted to know too….I sighed. "I don't know James. Why don't we just forget about it, like it never happened? That makes everything easier." I lied. I knew that I, at least, wouldn't be forgetting the scene on the stairs for a long time, no matter how much I wanted to I knew it would be burned into my brain, just like the kiss.

"Erm….okay. Right, just forget about it, yeah." James said, tugging on his hair some more. He looked really uncomfortable, and I felt that way too. This was becoming too awkward. I just hoped this whole fake girlfriend thing didn't ruin my friendship with him. I didn't want things to go back to the way they had been before fifth year.

Before anything could make the situation more awkward, Dorey popped up again, her hands stacked with plates and two goblets of pumpkin juice. She set it all down on the table between James and me and smiled at me.

"I hope you enjoy the food Miss Lily. And I hope that your first trip to the kitchens was worth your while." she said, twisting the bottom of her cloth dress in her hands nervously.

I grinned at her. "Thank you very much Dorey. This little adventure was more than worthwhile, and it was very nice meeting you."

She beamed and James grinned at me. When Dorey went back to doing whatever she was supposed to be doing, he said, "That was really great of you. They love getting compliments, and it's not very often that they get them. You probably just made her day right now."

"Well, I was just speaking the truth. It was great getting to meet her." I replied, picking up a piece of bacon and taking a bite. Oh my Merlin it was delicious.

James chuckled as he watched me. "Good?"

I nodded. "Go on, eat. If you don't, I will." I teased.

James obliged, picking up his fork and taking a huge bite out of a pancake.

"You didn't even put syrup on it!" I exclaimed.

James looked at me, confused. "Why does it matter if I eat it with syrup or not?"

I gwaffed. What did it matter? He couldn't be serious. "James, you have to have syrup with your pancakes, its practically a law. It tastes so much better than just plain pancakes!"

"Okay okay, I'll try it." He laughed, picking up the syrup pitcher and pouring some onto his plate. I shook my head. Who ate pancakes without syrup?

I watched as James took another bite, this time with the heavenly substance.

"You were right Lily. This is so much better. I've been missing out."

I grinned. "I know I was right. But now you know."

He chuckled and we ate our late breakfasts in silence. I savored the taste of the warm food sliding down my throat and the wonderful smells of the kitchen. The hustle and bustle reminded me of my mom during family holidays.

When we finished eating, James stood and I pushed myself up from the table. Merlin I was stuffed.

"It's about time for class. We have just enough time to get to our new dorm, get our bags, and go." He said, ruffling his hair again.

"That was so good James. Thank you for bringing me here."

He smirked. "No problem Lils."

Dorey popped up again, out of nowhere, and asked if we were finished. We nodded and she snapped her fingers, our empty plates disappearing instantly.

"Thank you very much Dorey." I said.

She curtsied and smiled at me and James.

"It was my pleasure Miss Lily, Mr. James."

"I'll see you again soon Dorey." James grinned, patting the little elf on the head kindly.

She giggled and blinked her wide eyes, smiling toothily up at him. Merlin, he even had the houseelves falling at his feet.

We left the kitchens and headed back to the dormitory we now shared, talking about our next class. James had Divination, I had Herbology. I really wasn't looking forward to re-potting the Mandrakes, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.

We turned the second to last corner leading to the Head's dorm and came face to face with Severus. I groaned. He was the last person I wanted to see, especially when James and I were alone together.

James reached over and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer into his side and Severus glared, his nostrils flaringly menacingly.

"Potter." He spat.

"Snape." James replied, his tone even.

I rolled my eyes. Snape was avoiding looking at me, and James was being over-protective. I wasn't some fragile little girl that couldn't stand up for herself.

"If you'll excuse us, we have somewhere to be." I said hotly, my hands clenched into fists. It was still really hard for me to see Snape after what he had said to me, but each time it got a little easier. I found myself caring less and less each time.

He ignored me, instead focusing all his attention on James. It was like I wasn't even there.

"What are you doing out of class Potter?" he sneered.

"I could ask you the same question, seeing how I'm Head Boy and you aren't even a prefect." James retorted.

Snape froze, looking down to see the Head boy badge pinned on James's chest. He snapped his mouth shut. If looks could kill, James would be laying on the floor, not breathing.

"Just what I thought. Twenty points from Slytherin. Now run along to class Snape, or it'll be twenty more."

Severus turned on his heel, storming down the corridor until he turned the corner, out of sight. James released my hand and turned to me.

"Are you okay Lily? You look really pale." He asked, looking concerned.

"I…I'm fine James, thanks." I said quietly. So sue me, I wasn't completely over losing my best childhood friend just yet.

I calmed myself down and we continued on to our dorm, entering and grabbing our things quickly. When we came back out of the dorm, students were pouring out of the classrooms, heading towards their next class.

"Well, see you at lunch then?" James asked, shrugging his bag onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you at lunch. Have fun in Divination." I teased, knowing James hated that class, but he and Sirius took it because they could bluff their way through it the entire year.

"Hey, it's better than full-grown Mandrakes!" he laughed and I winced. That was very true.

After a quick hug and a peck on the cheek to keep up relationship pretenses, I turned, walking the opposite way from James, hurrying to get to class on time.

I walked back up to the castle from the greenhouses with Alice, describing the Heads dormitory to her in detail.

"You are so lucky Lily! Marlene and I are going to miss you though." She said, curling her arm through my elbow and leaning her head on my shoulder.

I laughed. "Ali, it's not like we won't ever see each other again, and you can come visit me in the Heads dorm too."

"Okay good." She laughed.

We walked into the castle and down the corridor into the Great Hall. Even though I had just eaten pancakes and bacon with James, I was hungry from all the work Professor Sprout had made us do in Herbology. Mandrakes were feisty and unpleasant to deal with, and they took a lot of effort.

I saw James and the other Marauders already seated at the end of the Gryffindor table, and Alice spotted Frank at the other end.

"Lily, I'm going to go eat with Frank okay?" she said quietly.

I nodded. "Sure Alice. Why don't you invite him to sit with us though? That way we can spend some more time together."

"I would but, I kind of wanted to have some alone time with him. We haven't really hung out since we've been at school, and I miss him."

I chuckled. "Go on Alice. Go spend some time with Frank. I think I can manage without you for a day."

She smiled at me and skipped away. I watched as Frank beamed brightly when he saw her heading his way. They were so cute together.

I walked over to where the boys were seated and took my place next to James. They were all in the middle of the heated discussion that I couldn't follow so I just grabbed a sandwich off of the platter in front of me and began eating.

"Prongs you have to let us. This is like….fate!"

"I'm not supposed to Padfoot, I already got a warning."

"Sirius, if he'll get in trouble for it we shouldn't do it." Remus added, having been quiet most of the conversation.

Deciding I should probably involve myself, I spoke up. "What are you guys arguing about?"

"Sirius wants to throw a party in your new Heads common room." Remus explained, shrugging.

"But I told him that you probably wouldn't be okay with that, because McGonagal already warned us about it." James added.

I scoffed. Did they really think I was that much of a goody two shoes that I would stop a small party being thrown? Sure, maybe I would have last year, but I had changed. I had loosened up. I mean, I had to have, pretending to be James's girlfriend.

"Let's have a party. McGonagal won't know about it. It's not like she'll be checking in on us or something. There is a reason we are Head Boy and Girl, they trust us. It's not going to be wild or anything." I said, rather proud of myself. Sometimes I just needed to let my hair down and not worry so much, and doing so felt pretty good.

The four Marauders looked at me as though I had grown another head or something.

"Lily I bloody love you." Sirius shouted, jumping up and pumping his fist into the air. He turned and looked at James. "Prongs your girl is more outgoing than you. What's that all about?"

I laughed. Sirius was crazy. Remus and James were still looking at me with their mouths open.

"What?" I asked. They closed their mouths and shook their heads.

"Lily are you sure about this?" James asked.

"You have no idea how wild Sirius's parties can get, Lily. You might want to think this through." Remus added, raising his eyebrows.

I shook my head. "Nope, I've already agreed to it, and the more I think about it, the better it sounds." I turned to look at Sirius who was surveying the tables of students, probably searching for a girl to invite so he would have a designated snog. "When will this party be taking place then?"

"Tomorrow night." Sirius replied.

I grinned. Tomorrow night. I couldn't wait.

_A/N: Ohhhh there's gonna be a Marauder party! Will Lizabeth be invited? ;) Guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter! _

_Okay, so I am hoping to get to 100 reviews, maybe by this chapter or the next? So please, please help me get there! _

_More reviews=more updates_

_ =longer chapters!_

_:D So please, do me a favor and click that little button down there. It's staring at you with puppy dog eyes and you know you want to click it anyways :)_


	11. Talking with a Marauder

_A/N: Here's another chapter! That's two in one day :) I really hope you like this one. I've gotten a lot of reviews asking for more Remus, so here he is. I hope I did okay! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. :)_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Talking with a Marauder**

The rest of the day passed quickly, with the Marauders taking charge of the party preparations while I made sure to tell Alice and Marlene to invite people. After dinner that night James and I returned to our common room. No one else was able to go-Marlene and Alice had to study for a test, Sirius had gotten detention for some reason or another and Peter got detention purposely after that, and Remus was assigned to rounds for the night-so it was just the two of us.

"So how are the plans for the party going?" I asked, sitting down in one of the largely cushioned armchairs closest to the fire.

James flopped down onto the couch next to me and sighed. "Things are going along perfectly, as usual. Why did you agree to this Lily? It isn't like you at all."

I shrugged. I didn't even know why I had agreed. I sort of regretted it now; I mean what if we got into trouble? What in the name of Merlin's pants had I gone and done this time? I had been acting more and more unlike myself lately, and I wasn't sure if I liked it.

"I dunno. I s'pose I just thought it was what James's other girlfriends would have done. I sort of have an image to live up to now."

James sat up, his brow furrowed, and he tugged on his hair. "Lily…"

I shook my head and held up my hand, stopping him. "It's fine James. I'm not complaining, I was the one who agreed to all this."

I yawned and stood. "It's been a long day; I'm going to go to bed." I said, leaving James sitting there on the couch, looking after me.

He had a strange look on his face, like he wanted to say something but didn't know exactly how to get it out. I paused, wanting to turn back and talk to him some more, but I shook my head and continued up the stairs. It was better to just go to bed. Enough had already happened today.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock beeping by my ear. I groaned, sitting up in the large bed. Merlin that had been the best night's sleep I have gotten….ever. With my eyes still closed, I rolled out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, wanting to take a shower.

James's door was still closed and all was quiet in the dormitory so I turned the water on and hopped in. There were jets spraying from all directions, the warm water hitting every inch of my body no matter which way I turned. It was glorious.

After lathering up my hair in my favorite strawberry scented shampoo I let my muscles relax as I stood under the pounding spray. Today would be better, I thought over and over in my head, making it my mantra for the day.

I stayed in there for a while, letting the hot spray hit me, and then finishing up with my hair. I quickly magicked the stubble off of my legs and from under my arms before wrapping myself in one of the large, fluffy white towels that was hanging on a rack by the shower. I brushed my hair thoroughly, and then took care of my teeth too.

"Much better." I said aloud to myself, smiling at my reflection. I was clean and ready to start the day.

Not thinking that James would be up, I stepped out of the bathroom in only my towel, which barely covered me, only to be surprised by running smack into James's bare chest. He caught me, his arms wrapping around my waist, and I felt myself blush.

I could not seriously be standing there, completely naked except for a towel, with James Potter's arms around me, my body pressed against his naked chest-which happened to be VERY toned. Way to start a new day Evans, I groaned mentally.

I felt James's chest moved as he chuckled. "Didn't expect you to burst out of the bathroom like that Lily."

"I didn't expect you to be awake right now James." I countered, backing away from him, my face still flushed. I gripped my towel tightly closed and tensed as James gave me the once over.

"Sorry for scaring you then." He smirked. "Did you leave any hot water? You were in there for a while."

My blush deepened. "Yes, there's hot water." I mumbled.

James shot me another smirk and walked into the bathroom without another word. I blew out a frustrated breath and ran back into my room to get dressed. That would be the last time I ever took a shower without taking my clothes into the bathroom with me.

Wanting to feel a little special today, seeing how it was my first Marauder party that I approved of, I put on my prettiest bra and panties-white with little pink bows-and proceeded to dress in my school uniform. I magically dried my hair, leaving soft curls, and swiped on some mascara to cover my red lashes.

James met me at the top of the stairs, his hair still wet and a crooked grin on his face.

"Decided you didn't want to wear that towel of yours today?" he teased.

I elbowed him. "Shut up will you? I was expecting you to be up. I know better for next time."

"Glad it's Friday?"

"Ecstatic."

"So is Sirius. He's just dying, waiting for it to be nighttime…party time."

"That's Sirius for you."

"Yeah Sirius is very serious when it comes to parties." He chuckled at his own lame joke.

"Really? A Sirius/serious joke?" I raised my eyebrow. He just laughed harder.

"I have plenty more where that one came from Lils."

"Oh, I just bet you do James." I said. Stepping out of the portrait hole that covered the door to our common room.

We walked down to the Great Hall, keeping up the friendly banter. When we got there we found Remus and Peter sitting down eating, but Sirius was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Padfoot?" James questioned.

Remus looked up from his book and smiled at me before turning to James.

"Good morning Prongs. I'm fine how are you? Oh, by the way, Padfoot is off getting some Firewhiskey and inviting girls to this party that is going on tonight. Just in case you wanted to know." He said sarcastically.

I laughed and smiled at him. Remus was really funny, when he wanted to be, but he usually just read his book, choosing to ignore the crazy antics of his friends.

"Morning Moony. Sorry for being such an arse." James conceded. "But Firewhiskey?"

Remus nodded and I stopped laughing. I thought that had been a joke. Sirius was going to sneak Firewhiskey into Hogwarts? Unless he already had, and he was going to bring it to the party, held illegally, in my common room. This was a disaster. What in the bloody hell was I thinking?

"It's okay Lily, I'll stay sober and keep an eye on everyone. That's what I end up doing at all the other parties anyway." Remus said, seeing the deer in the headlights look on my face.

"I'll keep Sirius under control Lils. You can count on us." James added. Peter just sat there, observing the scene quietly, as per usual.

"Oh…erm…okay." I sighed, defeated. This was my entire fault. I had agreed already, and I couldn't just take back my word. "Thank you."

I ate the rest of my breakfast in silence while Remus and James talked about the upcoming Quidditich tryouts. James was not only Head Boy, but he was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditich team as well.

Sirius had not shown up at the table by the time all the remaining food disappeared and we were all left wondering what was taking him so long. Sirius made sure he never missed a meal, his stomach being a black hole and all.

Remus stood first, I followed, and then James and Peter.

"Better get to class then." Remus said, closing the book he had been reading this morning. There was a new one every day or so, and I always wondered what it was that he was reading, but I never wanted to ask, for some reason it just felt too personal.

On our way out of the Great Hall-James and I holding hands, of course-Lizabeth sent daggers at me through her eyes. I felt a spot being burned in my back until we were all the way out of the Hall and walking down the corridor towards our classrooms.

"Man Lizabeth hates you Lily." Remus stated, having seen her icy stare on the way out.

"I know. It's crazy I didn't realize that someone could hate a person so much for such a silly reason." I said, shrugging a little. I tried to not let it bother me, but it still did. I didn't want Lizabeth to hate me, but I didn't see how it was unavoidable. I made a commitment to help a friend, and there were consequences that I would have to live with. Being hated by a fifth year girl with a silly crush just happened to be one of them.

James squeezed my hand lightly and smiled down at me. I smiled back. Somehow he always knew how to make me feel a little bit better when I was down. It was great.

Just then, Sirius skidded around the corner into the corridor, panting like a dog.

"Did I miss breakfast?" she asked.

"I'm sorry to tell you this Padfoot, but yes, you did miss breakfast." Remus chuckled, shaking his head at the dejected look on his friend's face.

"But…that's the most important meal of the day!" he whined.

"Padfoot, we can always just sneak down to the kitchens in a little bit." James said cheerfully. Sirius glared at him, not appreciating James's cheerful tone.

"Sirius, it's your own fault. If you hadn't been out getting Frewhiskey," I hissed, staring at him pointedly, "then you wouldn't have missed breakfast. I don't want to hear you complain anymore." I said sternly.

Sirius paled. "You sounded like James's mum right now."

James and Remus laughed loudly, and I couldn't help but chuckle too. Maybe I had sounded a bit like a mum instead of like a seventeen year old girl, but I couldn't help it. It was the responsible, Head Girl in me.

"C'mon mate. Let's just get to class. I grabbed a couple pieces of bacon for you." James said, hitting Sirius on the shoulder in a brotherly manner.

Sirius perked up, looking like a dog that knew he was going to get the scraps from the table after dinner and I laughed.

"What?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing Sirius, nothing at all."

All classes for the day were over, and the Marauders and I had returned to the Heads common room to put some last minute touches on the party plans.

Remus and I were seated in the big armchairs by the fire while Sirius, James, and Peter were off whispering in the corner excitedly. I had decided to not take part in the planning, already feeling regretful for allowing the party to take place in the first place. Remus had decided to stay out of it too, being that he had helped plan other parties, and after the first few, it was all the same anyway.

James walked over and stopped in front of me. "Sirius and I need to run a little errand before people start showing up. Are you guys fine being left here?"

"I did plenty of things on my own before I started pretending to date you James, I'm sure I can handle myself now." I replied, rolling my eyes. Did he honestly feel the need to check in with me?

He turned to Remus. "And you Moony? Or did you want to go?"

Remus sighed, closing his book on his finger to keep his place. "Go ahead Prongs. I'll stay here and keep Lily company." He smiled kindly at me and I returned the gesture. Remus was a really great guy.

"Well Peter wants to go with us so we're going to take him. I'll see you in a bit then." James said, grinning at me before turning and following Sirius and Peter out of the portrait hole.

I waited until the portrait swung back into place, then turned to face Remus. "You didn't have to stay if you didn't want to, but I appreciate it."

"It was no problem. I really didn't feel like going with them anyways." He replied as he actually closed his book and set it on the table in front of him.

I nodded to the book. "What are you reading?"

"Oh this? It's just a muggle book. Wuthering Heights. Have you read it?" Remus said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Have I read it? Yes! That is one of my favorite books in the world. I didn't think you would read muggle books though, being a pureblood and all." I was surprised. I really hadn't imagined Remus to read muggle books. I always thought he was reading magical books, talking about spells or hexs or something to further his knowledge of magic. It was a pleasant surprise.

"It is a rather good book, though that Heathcliff….what a prat."

I laughed. "He is an arse, that's true. But I think it shows the power of true love. He was such a jerk, and Cathy was rather dense-she even married someone she didn't love!-but they still loved each other, and that love haunted them both."

"It makes me wonder if it's real though. True love. I mean, if they really loved each other, why did Cathy marry the other bloke? And why was Heathcliff such an insufferable git to her? You would think their love would bring them together happily but it just killed them."

"I see what you're saying, but I truly think that that is precisely what was supposed to happen. It's saying love is powerful enough to kill you, but you have to fight for it. Cathy and Heathcliff, they didn't fight. They gave up, and they died for that." I said, finally able to have a good discussion about a wonderful book with someone. I used to that with Petunia, but ever since I found out I was a witch, she refused to talk to me.

"Maybe you're right Lily." Remus conceded, chuckling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get so worked up." I laughed.

He shook his head. "No, it's not a problem. It is pretty refreshing, seeing how James and Sirius only read when forced. It gives me a change in things, talking to you."

"Well I'm glad I can do that Remus." I said modestly.

He smiled. He really was handsome. I didn't see why he didn't have a girlfriend. I could think of a couple of girls that I had overheard in one of the loos last year, giggling over how cute he was.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" I asked suddenly. I was really curious, and I just couldn't help myself.

"Erm….sure?" Remus said hesitantly.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend? You're very attractive, and you are so smart and sweet and funny."

I watched his face and his cheeks reddened and he looked down.

"If that's too personal you don't have to answer, I'm just curious. Isn't there anybody that you fancy?"

He was quiet for a moment, and I felt bad. I hadn't meant to put him on the spot like that. I was just trying to figure him out. Other than Peter, Remus was the Marauder I knew the least.

"Well Lily, there is someone that I fancy, I just don't know if it would work out."

"Can I ask who it is? Again, feel free to tell me to shove it and butt out of your business. I'm not meaning to be nosey."

"Well…you know Emma…the prefect." Remus said quietly.

"Emma! Oh Remus why don't you ask her to the first Hogsmeade trip next week? I'm sure she'd be delighted to go with you." I exclaimed. I could just see it. They would be such a cute couple.

"You really think so?" he asked, looking at me hopefully. I smiled widely, having never seen Remus look so excited for anything before.

"Yes I really think so. I've talked to Emma before, and I remember she asked me about you once. I didn't really read anything into it, but a girl doesn't just ask about a boy for no reason."

"Thank Lily. You know, I think I will ask her to Hogsmeade. The worst she can do is say no, right?"

"Right, but Remus? I don't think she'll say no." I beamed. Remus looked so happy, and I was happy for him. Hopefully things with Emma worked out, because if they didn't I would feel really bad.

"Oh, Lily? Can you not tell the others about this? I don't want Sirius to go and do anything stupid."

"It'll be our little secret, I promise." I said, reassuring him with a smile.

Not wanting to push any further in one night, I grabbed my book-Romeo and Juliet-and began to read. Remus followed my example and picked up his own book, starting where he left off.

We sat there in comfortable silence, reading our books for a long time, just waiting for the troublemakers to get back from wherever they were and for the party to start.

_A/N: Okay so what did you think about Lily's little talk with Remus? Do you think I did an okay job capturing Remus's personality? Please leave a review and let me know! _

_I'm almost to 100 reviews for this story, and I'm really hoping to get to that with this chapter so please please please review! I'll love you forever! _

_Plus, if I get to 100 I just might upload 2-3 chapters in one day :) So review!_


	12. Drunken Decisions

_A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews! This is by far the longest chapter I have written, and it's longer by some 1,000 words. It's a reward for all the reviews, so keep it up and you might just get more like this! ;) _

_So this is the party, finally, and Lily is a bit OOC here, I just hope that doesn't bother you! It's sort of nessecary for this scene, and for the whole being James's fake girlfriend thing. I just hope that you can be okay with that and continue reading! :)_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Drunken Decisions**

The other three Marauders burst into the common room three hours after they left, laughing loudly and bumping into each other on the way in.

"Well looks like they had some fun." I muttered to Remus, who put his book down and chuckled quietly.

"Evans! Moony!" Sirius shouted, making his way across the room, his body still shaking with laughter.

"Sirius, what the hell is so funny?" I asked, not able to keep myself from smiling at the silliness.

"Life! That's what is so goddamn funny Evans. Life is great. I'm happy to be alive, aren't you?"

I looked at James, my eyebrows raised. "What is wrong with him?" I mouthed.

"He decided to open up the Firewhiskey." James mouthed back, wincing slightly.

I nodded, understanding perfectly now. Sirius was already piss drunk, and nobody had even started showing up yet. Tonight was going to be a truly interesting night. I guess when I said this year was going to be different-better- than the previous six I had been right. I just didn't expect it to be different in this manner.

"Sirius, why don't you just sit down here for a minute." I said, guiding him into my recently vacated armchair. He sat down easily, sinking into the cushions. "Remus, can you keep an eye on him?"

Remus nodded slowly and walked over, pulling another chair closer to the one Sirius was now in.

"I've got him Lily. I'll let you do the honors of beating James to a pulp, but if you need me, I'll be right here." He joked, seeing the angry expression on my face.

I stomped over to where James was standing, shuffling his feet nervously. Good, he deserved to be nervous. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the stairway that led to the entrance of the Heads dorm, when I released him I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.

"I thought you said you were going to make sure he didn't get too piss drunk?" I hissed.

"Lily I didn't know he had opened the bottle until he started getting loud! I swear or I would have stopped him." James said quickly, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Fine. Whatever. There isn't anything we can do about it now, but James I swear if he causes trouble you better have some way to control him."

"Okay Lils, I promise I'll keep him under control."

"Good." I huffed and turned to go back and help Remus. James stopped me by putting a hand on my elbow.

"Lily, you aren't really going to wear that to the party are you?" he asked.

I looked down at myself. I had on my standard school uniform, just without my outer robes. A plain white button up shirt, my pleated black skirt, and black stockings.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I questioned. James was still in his school robes too…

"Well, that's not really party attire, do you think?"

"What about you Mr. Hypocrite?"

"I was going to go change right now, but we just got back and then you pulled me over here." He explained.

I sighed. "Fine I'll change. What exactly is party attire?"

"Well jeans and a sweater would work. Maybe a skirt?" James said, shrugging. "Just something besides your school uniform."

"I'll see what I can do." I said, turning and heading towards my room. James followed cautiously and stopped to help Remus with their drunken fool of a friend.

When I was in my room, I shut the door and sat on my bed. I knew something bad was going to happen tonight, I just couldn't figure out what it was going to be. I could only hope that it was something small rather than drastic.

I stood up and walked over to my wardrobe, searching through my clothes for something cute to wear. When I thought about it, I understood what James had been saying. It would have been dumb to wear my school uniform to a party, even if the party was still technically being held at school.

I pulled out a pair of worn, faded jeans that I loved and a black sweater that went off my shoulders. There, that was as fancy as I was getting, I thought defiantly at James.

I slipped into the jeans, reveling in the comfortable feel of the material. The only time I could wear jeans at Hogwarts was on Hogsmeade trips, and I loved it. The jeans fit perfectly, of course, hugging the few curves I had and sheathing my long legs in their familiar material. I unbuttoned my white shirt and slipped into my black sweater, savoring the feel of the soft shirt sliding against my skin. I adjusted the sleeves to hang off my shoulders, showing my ivory skin, like they were supposed to.

After touching up my makeup and magically curling my hair so it fell in big heavy waves I returned downstairs.

Sirius had sobered up quite a bit and him and Remus had apparently gone back to the Gryffindor common room to change into black pants and regular T-shirts. James was back in the common room also, having changed into a pair of trousers and a light blue button up shirt that he left unbuttoned over a white T-shirt. Merlin, he actually looked pretty good.

Peter was sitting in the windowsill quietly, observing as the other three boys charmed the furniture to move to the sides of the room to make a space for people to dance.

Four pairs of eyes turned to me as I walked down the spiral staircase and I blushed, not used to the attention in the way I was getting it.

"Bloody hell, Evans has curves." Sirius laughed, smirking when my blush deepened.

"Shut up Padfoot." James said and Remus reached over and hit Sirius in the back of the head.

"Ouch! I was complimenting her!" he shouted, rubbing the spot Remus had hit me.

"And you wonder why girls call you a pig-headed womanizer." I tittered.

Sirius gwaffed, mocking offense. James and Remus snickered.

I walked the rest of the way down the stairs and James met me at the bottom.

"You look great Lily." He said, his eyes darkening as he looked me over.

I felt my face grow warm again, but I smiled. "Thank you James. You don't look too bad yourself."

He smirked, knowing exactly how good he looked.

"Hey guys, I think people are here!" Peter shouted excitedly, hopping down from the window and walking towards the entrance.

Sirius hopped up off the couch and pushed Peter out of the way. "I've got it Pete, but thanks for the heads up."

Peter, looking dejected, sat back down. I shook my head. Sirius was always pushing Peter around, and I didn't understand why Peter just took it. It didn't seem right to me but I didn't say anything.

A few seconds later I heard chattering and I looked at James nervously. I was practically one of the hosts of this party, and this would be the first time I had ever even been to a party that I approved of. My stomach was full of butterflies.

I took one last look around the room before it was filled with people, noticing that the boys had managed to move every piece of furniture out of the middle of the room and pushed them against the wall, leaving the room looking completely bare but for the outside edges. They had also set up a bar in the far corner and there was a large assortment of bottles set out on the bar to choose from.

Remus took a place behind the makeshift bar, apparently acting as the bartender for the night. James reached down and grabbed my hand, and I looked up at him. He seemed to have a knack for knowing when I needed to be reassured, and now was definitely one of those times.

Students began pouring into the common room, led by Sirius, the jovial host. There were Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws mixed in with the Gryffindors, but not one Slytherin was joined in the mix. That was good, at least we could avoid a duel tonight.

I searched the crowd for Marlene and Alice but I couldn't find them. Damn, they were supposed to be here, I thought.

"Oh shit." James groaned. I tore my gaze from the mass milling around my common room and looked up at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Lizabeth. She's here."

"Ohhh…shit is right." I moaned. She wasn't supposed to be here! Now James and I would have to be extra careful with what we said and did. We had an act to preform now.

"I'm going to go ask Sirius what the hell this is. If he invited her as some sort of joke, I'm going to beat the piss out of him."

James released my hand and walked over to where Sirius was chatting up two sixth year Hufflepuffs.

"Lily!" someone shouted from behind me. I turned, no longer able to see the confrontation, and looked around for whoever called my name.

Both Marlene and Alice were pushing their way through the already crowded room, both had boys attached to them. I had known Alice would bring Frank, but I was surprised to see that Marlene was holding hands with Amos Diggory. After her confession about having feelings for Sirius, I had figured she would be trying to snog him the whole time.

"Hey guys! I was starting to think you weren't going to show up!" I said when they finally reached me. I nodded to the boys, not wanting to be rude. "Frank, Amos, good to see you here."

"Of course we showed up! This is the first Marauder party of the year Lily." Alice giggled as Frank put his arm around her shoulder and looked at her lovingly.

I smiled. They were so cute together, and you could tell they both loved one another. I gave it ten minutes at the most before they were off in a corner somewhere, snogging each other senseless. Sure enough, after one more shared look with Frank, Alice gave me a quick hug and a promise to come talk to me in a little while and skipped off with him.

"So…this is new." I stated, shooting a pointed look at Amos, who was looking around the room with a bored expression. She turned red and looked over at her date as well, then back at me.

"Lily, you know a girl has to do what a girl has to do." She whispered, her eyes traveling around the room.

The pieces fell together then and I understood. She was trying to make Sirius jealous by coming with another guy. I wasn't so sure how it would work out though, seeing how Amos Diggory wasn't anything to be jealous of in Black's case, but maybe it would work, just because she was Marlene.

"Oh I see what you mean." I said, nodding in understanding.

Marlene grinned and pulled Amos off with her, making her way around the room, most likely searching for the perfect spot to snog where she would be in Sirius's view.

I surveyed the room once again and saw that both James and Sirius were missing. Not wanting to look out of place just standing in the middle of the room I made my way to the bar, where Remus was doling out drinks quickly and professionally.

"What do you have over here, Mr. Bartender?" I joked. Remus turned and smiled at me, and after he handed out the last drink and the bar was empty, he walked over.

"Take this Lily. You look like you could use it." He replied, sliding a large mug filled to the brim with a frothy liquid to me.

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Not until you've taken a drink first." He grinned.

I stuck my tongue out playfully and took a sip. The liquid burned a trail down my throat like Firewhiskey, but it tasted incredibly sweet. I took a large swallow and smacked my lips. Delicious.

"What is that Remus? It's brilliant."

"Firewhiskey and butterbeer. I've been experimenting with mixes because just the whiskey is too strong for my liking and this is the only one that has been successful." He explained as he leaned against the bar to talk to me.

"You found the perfect mix. I can't stand just the plain whiskey either-it's too strong-but this tastes just like butterbeer. Other than the burn, I can't tell the difference!"

I took another gulp and felt the pleasant burn at the back of my throat. This was my new favorite drink, that was for sure.

"Go easy on it though Lily, they still get you drunk." Remus warned, laughing happily. He pushed himself off of the bar, needing to go and help the three giggling girls at the other end.

I stood, mug in hand, and waved a goodbye to him. "I'll be back in a bit Remus!"

He waved and turned back to the girls, who were all flirting with him shamelessly, but he seemed to be oblivious to their efforts. I started making my way around the room, sipping my drink as I went. There were already people dancing wildly in the middle of the room and I stopped to watch and laugh at the drunken students.

As I was standing there, Lizabeth Vane sauntered over, ramming into me purposefully.

"Oops, my bad." She sneered as she turned to walk back the other way. Then, seeing that James was nowhere to be seen, she stopped. "Where's your boyfriend Evans? Did he leave you already? You know it's going to happen sooner or later, you aren't good enough for him."

Merlin what was this girl's problem? My grip on my mug tightened and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"No, James has not left me, and he won't leave me. We care about each other. Do you really think you're good enough for him? Because honey, you aren't. You're just a silly little fifth year with a tiresome crush." I retorted.

"If he hasn't left you then where is he?" she replied haughtily.

I opened my mouth, not knowing what I was going to say. Where was James? The last time I had seen him, he had been talking to Sirius. Then I felt an arm snake around my shoulder and smelled the now familiar smell of James.

"There you are love. I've been looking for you everywhere." James said. I glanced up at him and breathed a sigh of relief. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he leaned down, pressing his lips against mine. My lips parted and I sighed into his mouth, moving my body closer against his. I didn't know if it was the Firewhiskey I had already drank, or if it was just James, but my head was spinning a little. His lips lingered a little longer than the average kiss required, and when he finally pulled back he kissed me lightly once more before pulling all the way away.

Lizabeth cleared her throat and pushed out her already large chest. "Hello Jamesie." She batted her eyelashes and I snorted.

"Oh, hullo Lizabeth. I didn't know you were invited." James said in a tone that clearly conveyed that he knew she hadn't been.

She turned read and mumbled something I didn't understand. James shrugged, his arms still around me, and a huge smirk on his face.

"No matter. Have fun!" he pulled me away and left Lizabeth standing there fuming.

"How do you do that?" I asked when we were out of her hearing range.

"Do what?" he asked, still smirking.

"Show up at the perfect time and know exactly what to say."

"Oh, that. I really was looking for you, and I just happened to find you right then. Guess it was just luck."

"Right. Luck." I nodded, going to take another drink and realizing my cup was empty. I frowned.

"What were you drinking?" James asked, catching my look. "I'll go get you another one."

"It's Remus's special mix." I replied.

James nodded and took my mug from me. "Sit down and I'll bring you back your drink." He said.

I sat down on the couch and watched him walk away. The shirt he was wearing did nothing to hide the muscles in his arms and back and I grinned. Now that I had seen him and touched his naked chest, it was hard not to think about it. He was just so fit.

Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but I found that I didn't mind the train of thought much. I also found myself thinking more and more about the two kisses I had now shared with James, and the one that had almost taken place on the staircase. I was sort of happy that Lizabeth had decided to show up, and that James had kissed me.

"Merlin!" I exclaimed, standing up quickly and drawing looks from some of the people in earshot. I blushed and held my hand out, steadying myself. The alcohol had had more effect than I had thought, and I was feeling it quite a bit. I wasn't a drinker, and when I did drink, it didn't take much to get me drunk. I needed to slow down.

I sank back down into the couch, careful to keep my thoughts away from James and his body and his kisses. I would be much better off if I just didn't think about any of those things.

When he returned, he had two mugs full of my new favorite drink and he handed one to me.

"Here you go love." He said, smiling down at me before he took a seat next to me.

"Thanks James." I said, taking a huge gulp. His thigh was pressed against my leg and our arms brushed against each other when he leaned back. For some reason his smell was much stronger than normal and I couldn't help myself but to take a deep breath.

"How many of those have you had?" he asked, his eyes running over my face.

"This'll be my second one."

"Oh okay then. Just be careful. They really sneak up on you."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

We sat together in silence after that, occasionally commenting on some of the dancers as we nursed our drinks. I could see Lizabeth watching us from across the room and I felt like I needed to do something affectionate so I turned to James.

He looked at me, his eyes questioning, and I saw that they were more green than gold at the moment. Without thinking about what I was doing, I leaned his brushed my lips against his lightly, tangling my fingers in his hair as I did so. I trailed light kisses along his jaw to his ear, where I stopped.

"Lizabeth is watching us right now. Play along." I breathed. He gave a small nod in understanding and took action. One of his hands trailed down my arm to my waist, where it rested lightly, comfortably. His other hand went to the back of my neck and he tangled his hands in my hair as he turned his head and captured my lips with his.

If I thought for one second that the kiss we had shared in the hallway the other day was a good snog, it was only because I had yet to experience this one.

James's mouth tasted like the butterbeer and Firewhiskey we had been drinking, and his breathing was rapid, as was mine, from the kissing. My chest was flush against his, and the only thing I could think about was getting even closer to him than I already was.

I opened my mouth at his tongue's probing, and before I knew what was happening, our tongues were moving together as though they were already very familiar with each other. Merlin, he was better than any words could describe.

I pulled away after a minute, needing to catch my breath, and his lips didn't leave me for one second. They were there, trailing along my jaw, down my neck, around my collar bone, and up the other side. My breath caught and my heart was trying to beat itself right out of my chest. Every single place James's lips touched ignited, burning and leaving me more breathless than I already was.

"Ladies and gentlemen! If I could please pry your attention away from the snogging couple in the back for just a minute, I promise, it will be worth your time." I heard Sirius say, his voice booming through the room.

James, realizing at the same time that I did that the snoggers he was mentioning happened to be us, pulled completely away from me and looked to the bar. I felt my face heat up and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix the places that James had tangled. I couldn't believe that I had gotten that carried away, or that we had had an audience other than Lizabeth.

I looked in the direction that James was looking, giving up on my hair, and I saw that Sirius was standing on top of the bar, calling for everyone's attention.

"Okay, now it's about time for the traditional game of truth or dare-Marauder style! If anyone doesn't want to play, then you need to leave. Also, anybody under sixth year needs to vacate the premises immediately. Thank you!" he finished, taking a shot of Firewhiskey that Remus had handed him before hopping off the bar.

I watched as most of the students left, leaving only about ten or so other than me and the four Marauders. The younger students were mumbling and grumbling, angry that they had to miss out on the fun of truth or dare, and I searched the room to see Lizabeth leave but I couldn't see her anywhere. Maybe she had left during James's and my little…show, I thought, smirking slightly. Even though I wasn't too ecstatic about how far I had let it go, I was glad the little stunt had worked. Maybe she would get the point now.

"Are you going to play Lily?" James asked. I noticed that he didn't look me in the eye and I wondered if he was feeling as uncomfortable as I was about this new kiss we had just shared in a rather largely populated place.

"Erm…I'll play if you are." I decided. Standing up a little unsteadily. Merlin, those drinks really did creep up on you. I was pretty drunk right now.

James grabbed my arm to help me and we walked over to the middle of the room where Sirius and the remaining others were gathered.

"Evans! Prongs! Good, you two are playing." Sirius shouted, grinning widely and slurring his words a bit. Looked like I wasn't the only drunk one.

I looked around the circle, taking in the faces of the other participants. There was James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, me, Marlene, Amos, Alice, Frank, and the two Hufflepuff girls Sirius had been talking to earlier, and one Ravenclaw sixth year that had decided he would stay. I smiled at Marlene and Alice, who were talking quietly, and they smiled back at me but when they glanced at James, their smiles disappeared and they both looked away, avoiding my eyes.

"Okay…so here are the rules everybody. If you don't want to follow them exactly, then it's best that you leave right now." Sirius said, looking around the circle. Nobody left, and Sirius's grin got wider.

"Number one…." He began.

_A/N: Did you like it? Lily was really OOC there, I know, but I hope you liked it anyway! She was a bit tipsy too ;)_

_Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought! _

_Oh, and seeing how they are playing Truth or Dare-Marauder style, if you put a question for a certain character (all that are playing are mentioned in the end of this chapter) I will have that character be asked that question! So that way you can find out what you want to know about them. Plus, that really helps me out, knowing what you want to know. _

_So...Review! The quicker you review, the quicker you will have an update! ;D_


	13. Truth or Dare Marauder Style!

_A/N: Ahhh I only need one more review to get to 100! Please help me out here! Hmm do you think it's too much to ask to try for 200 sometime soon? ;)_

_Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Truth or Dare...with the Marauders...I want to play! ;D_

_Happy Reading!xx_

**Truth or Dare Marauder Style**

"Rule one," Sirius said, holding up one finger on his right hand. "Anything that is said or done tonight does not leave this common room. It is strictly between us-the participating parties. Understood?"

Everybody nodded vigorously and Sirius turned to look at James. "Two," James continued as Sirius put up another finger. "The game is played by someone asking someone a question-and it has to be a good question too, not just 'What did you wat for lunch today' or anything like that-and the person has to answer honestly. If you don't want to answer the question, you have the option of taking a dare."

"Three," Remus added as Sirius put up another finger. "If you choose to take a dare instead, you have to do it. There is no way you can get out of it, and if you don't do it to the standards of the Marauders-meaning James, Sirius, Peter, and myself-then there is a consequence to pay."

"And four," Peter squeaked, Sirius put up yet another finger. "As James said, you have to answer all the questions honestly. If you aren't honest, then there really isn't a problem because every participant is required to drink Veritaserum before the game begins."

I looked around the circle at the smirking faces of the Marauders, and the uneasy faces of the two Hufflepuff girls and Ravenclaw boy. Marlene, Alice, and Frank all looked excited, and Amos wore the bored expression that was normal to his features. i couldn't help but be a little excited myself, and I grinned at James.

"You ready for this Lily? It can get pretty wild." he whispered in my ear in a mocking tone. I shivered pleasantly as his warm breath tickled my ear and rolled my eyes at him.

"Please. You think I'm afriad of a couple silly questions? Bring it on." I laughed.

James shook his head at me, but he was still smirking widly.

"Is everyone good with the rules?" Sirius asked, looking around the circle. I noticed that Marlene was holding hands with Amos, and Sirius's eyes lingered on her a little too long before he looked away, shooting a glare at Amos. I giggled quiety. Maybe Marlene's plan would work after all.

"I have a question." Alice said, looking a little embarrassed as she rose her hand.

"Shoot Prewett."

"Well, what's the consequence if you don't want to do a dare?"

Sirius smirked. "You remove a piece of clothing, of course! And it can't be just a sock or anything small like that."

I laughed. That would be embarrassing! Alice blushed and Marlene grinned while the two Hufflepuff girls-Hannah and Mary, I think their names were-exchanged uneasy looks.

"Now for the Veritaserum, before we start." James said as Peter reappeared with a tray full of shot glasses filled to the top with clear liquid. I hadn't even realized that Peter had left the circle...

Peter walked around, holding the tray out so that everyone could grab a glass. James and I were the last to get ours, and everybody had already downed theirs without a second thought the second they had grabbed them.

James looked at me, still grinning, and I grinned back. "Bottoms up then!" he said, tipping the clear truth-telling serum into his mouth and swallowing quickly. I repeated his actions and winced as the liquid slid down my throat. Ugh, it tasted retched!

"Okay," Sirius clapped his hands together excitedly as he looked around the circle. "Remus! You ask the first question."

All eyes turned to Remus as he looked at Sirius mischeviously.

"Sirius, if you had to chose between Hannah and Mary, which would you say is more attractive?" he asked. I laughed as the two girls blushed and looked at Sirius expectantly, and i felt James's shoulders shake with laughter too.

Sirius surveyed both girls, his hand under his chin. I raised my eyebrow. Why couldn't he just pick? Did he really have to sit there and look them over like that?

After what seemed like ages, Sirius chuckled. "Which one is which again?"

"I'm Hannah." said the taller of the two girls. She was petit, with prominent cheek bones, wide blue eyes, and blonde hair that fell in ringlets to the tops of her shoulders.

"And I'm Mary." chimed the other girl. She was much shorter, and she had a round face and dark skin. Her black hair fell in waves, reaching all the way to her butt, and her brown eyes were wide and doe-like.

I leaned my head against James's shoulder as I waited for Sirius to choose. He really was taking forever. There should be a time limit for giving an answer or something... But James's shoulder was so comfortable, and I was feeling a little sleepy as the alcohol began to wear out of my system. James wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him, making it more comfortable for me.

Finally, Sirius had made his decision. "I'll have to go with Hannah on this one," he smirked as Hannah's face lit up and upon seeing the disappointed look on Mary's face, he tried to hide it. "Sorry love." he added, looking at Mary.

"It doesn't matter anyways! You're just a pig-headed git anyways. You can sod off for all I care." Mary shouted, standing up angrily. Obviously she didn't appreciate not being the one chosen. She looked at Hannah expectantly, and seeing Hannah's look of hesitation and the thrown glace at Sirius, she stormed off towards the entrance to the common room.

"Well I guess she quits then?" James laughed. I sniggered and soon every body else, with the exception of Hannah, joined in.

I watched as Hannah stood up and walked over to Sirius, placing a kiss on his cheek and whispering in his ear. Marlene looked furious, but she quickly covered up the death glare she shot at Hannah behind her back when she was back in Sirius's view. Hannah glided across the room and out the portrait hole without a goodbye to anyone.

"Way to go Moony. Get the girls to quit." Sirius said, mocking anger. But I could see the amusement in his eyes and I knew he was just joking around.

"It's not like they were much fun anyways." I mumbled, then slapped a hand to my mouth. I couldn't believe I had made such a rude comment, but it was true, after all, I was unable to lie thanks to the vial Veritaserum.

James chuckled again, and i felt the vibrations run through his chest.

"It's your turn, Padfoot." Remus said, trying to get the game rolling again.

"Right, right...Prewett then!" Sirius exclaimed. Alice turned to look at him, shocked.

"Er...yeah?"

"What's the furthest you've ever been with a guy? You seem like a virgin, to me, but I've heard some talk." he winked, smirking. Alice blushed tomatoe red and I giggled, exchanging a look with Marlene. We both knew she wasn't as innocent as she looked.

"Bit personal, yeah? But if you must know, I've been all the way." she admitted, glancing at Frank, who looked as surprised as Sirius. I laughed and Alice looked at me, a sly look shaping her features. "It's my turn to ask a question now, isn't it?" she asked, looking from Sirius to James to Remus.

"Yeah, ask anyone whatever you want. But remember it has to be interesting." James said.

Alice grinned and turned to look at me. Uh oh, I'd seen that look before, and nothing good had ever followed it. I sat up, pulling away from James's shoulder and sitting upright. My ears were ringing and the room was spinning a little, but I managed to stay upright.

"Lily, who in this room do you think is the best looking?" she asked. I felt James straighten up, and everyone else seemed to be called to attention too.

"James." I answered easily. Then, realizing how quickly I had answered, and how that seemed, I blushed and lowered my eyes, choosing to look at my hands in my lap instead.

I heard Sirius scoff, and I couldn't help but smile. Of course Sirius would be offended. He thought he was God's gift to the human race with his good looks and 'boyish charm'. I felt James lean close to me, and his breath tickled my ear once again.

"You really think I'm the best looking person in this room?" he asked. I could hear the grin in his voice and I looked up at him, my face still flaming.

"Well, yeah. I can't lie. You know I'm forced to tell the truth."

Before James could say anything back to that, Sirius looked over at us.

"Oi! Lovebirds, we've got a game to play here. Evans, it's your turn to ask a question."

I rolled my eyes at Sirius's antics and looked around the circle. I had been planning to ask the sixth year Ravenclaw a question, but when I looked around for him I realized that he was passed out, sprawled across the floor between Marlene and Amos and Alice and Frank. I chuckled, shaking my head, and decided to call Marlene out, asking her an embarrassing question just as Alice had done for me. What could I say? Or friendship was a complex one.

"Marlene, is Sirius the best snog you've ever had or has there been others?" I asked, smirking slightly at the surprised look on both Marlene's and Sirius's faces.

Marlene opened and closed her mouth, looking around the circle nervously, looking at every person but Sirius Black, the one person she really wanted to look at. She shot a glare my way, but I didn't really care. The alcohol in my system was letting me free from all my obligations as a friend and as Lily Evans-Head girl, responsible young woman, reliable friend. Tonight, I was just Lily Evans.

"I think I'll take a dare." Marlene finally said.

James rocked back happily. "Well, seeing how in this game, only the Marauders get to give out the dares, and I have a bloody brilliant one in mind, Moony, Wormtail, do you mind if I take this one?"

I breathed out a sigh of relief. I hadn't had a dare to give her, and I doubted I would have been able to think up a really good one in my drunken state.

Remus and Peter shrugged, telling James to go ahead. He rubbed his hands together and looked from Sirius to Marlene.

"Marlene, I dare you to make out with Sirius." James stated.

My eyes went wide and I saw that both Marlene and Alice were mirroring my look. James and Remus were smirking, and Sirius was glaring daggers at James and muttering under his breath. I believed I caught something about stringing someone up and throwing them to the Giant Squid, but I couldn't be sure.

Marlene narrowed her eyes and stood up, crossing the circle to stand in front of Sirius. Amos, having noticed that his date had gotten up and was walking away from him, finally turned his attention to the group. Well, this should be interesting! I thought.

"Marlene you aren't actually going to do it are you?" Alice exclaimed, looking horrified.

"It was my laundry day, and I don't have on any of my good underwear. I am NOT taking off any clothing if I won't look cute in my underwear. So I guess I have to." she explained, a determined look on her face. She turned to look at James, her hands on her hips. "Is there a time limit or anything?"

James considered the question. "At least sixty seconds." he declared.

I leaned forward, totally captivated by what was unfolding in front of me. I watched as Marlene crouched down in front of Sirius, who looked like his dog had just died or something. She grabbed the front of his shirt and leaned in slowly, watching his face as she did so and smirking at the look she saw.

I was amazed that she was being so bold, but I knew I shouldn't have been. Marlene was amazingly diverse in her attitudes. She pressed her lips to Sirius's and I giggled when he seemed to be resisting at first. She pulled away.

"Damnnit Sirius Black, you better kiss me or I swear I will hex you. It's for a dare, that's all you prick. It's not like you have to make a commitment or anything." she said exasperatedly before pressing her lips back to his.

This time Sirius went along with it, opening his lips and slipping his tongue into her mouth, his hands moving to grab her waist and pull her closer. Her hands traveled to his hair and got tangled there.

"Merlin, Marlene means serious business here." James whispered. I laughed and smiled up at him, forgetting the awkwardness that had been there when I answered the question Alice had asked me. He grinned down at me and then, the sick people that we were, we turned back to watch Marlene and Sirius again.

She was practically sitting on his lap now, and they were snogging each other's brains out. I was pretty sure it had been more than sixty seconds, and I glanced around the circle to gauge the reactions of the others.

Alice was sitting there, looking as shocked as I felt. Frank was totally unconcerned with what Marlene and Sirius were doing, instead he was playing with a little strand of Alice's hair. The Ravenclaw boy was still passed out on the floor, and Amos was sitting there, staring at Marlene impassively. Remus and Peter were leaned back against the couch, smirking at what was happening and talking in rapid whispers.

"You two lovebirds," James sing-songed, immitating what Sirius had said to us, "can stop now. It's been way over sixty seconds."

Marlene pulled away, smirking hugely and stood up, leaving Sirius sitting there, looking a little shell-shocked. She floated back to her seat by Amos and sat down, a contented look on her face. I grinned at her and she winked. Her plan had worked, Sirius had been jealous, and James had just given her a bonus with that dare. Marlene McKinnon was one happy girl tonight.

"My turn now!" she hummed. "Peter, I just have to know this one. Are you a virgin?"

Peter squeaked and turned ghostly pale. "I...well...I...no." he admitted dejectedly. I felt bad for him, he looked so sad and embarrassed that he was a virgin.

"Peter, that's not a bad thing, being a virgin." I spoke up. "I'm one too." I announced. Peter looked up and me and I felt all the other male eyes-including James's-on me too.

"Really Lily?" Peter asked quietly.

I nodded. "Yeah really. There's no reason to be embarrassed about it. It just means we're choosing to wait so it can happen with someone really special, that's all."

Peter nodded slowly, thinking about what I had said. "Yeha, you're right Lily. Thanks."

"Anytime Peter." I smiled. I didn't even have time to be embarrassed. It had just felt like the right thing to do, and I didn't really care what anybody else thought about that. What I had said was true.

I looked up at James, as he was still looking at me in wonder.

"What?" I asked self-conciously.

"Nothing, nothing." he said quickly, looking back to Peter, who was about to ask a question, being that it was his turn.

"James," Peter started, "when we made that love potion thing in Slughorn's class, what did yours smell like?"

I looked at James, curious to know his answer. The potion, Amortentia, would smell like whatever attracted you. Oddly enough, my potion had smelled like grass, broom polish, and one unidendifiable but wonderful smell. Exactly what James smelled like.

James glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Strawberries." he said. "It smelled like strawberries."

Hmm, that was funny. My favorite shampoo was strawberry scented, I thought.

James turned to look around the circle quickly. "Alright, it's my turn now. Padfoot! I've got a question for you...Have you ever been in love?"

Sirius looked at James with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean by that question Prongs?"

"I mean, has there ever been one girl that's better than all the rest? One that's meant more than all the others? One girl that's made you think about actually ending your playboy ways and getting into a serious relationship?" James explained.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marlene straighten up and look straight at Sirius, clearly waiting to hear the answer.

Sirius glanced over at Marlene quickly, and I thought I saw I flicker of something in his face, but I didn't know if I was just the drunken me, trying to make logic that wasn't really there.

"Give me a dare." Sirius replied. I gasped, shocked, and the other Marauders were all shocked as well.

"What?" James exclaimed.

"Really Prongs? You won't answer a truth?" Remus said, surprise coloring his voice.

Peter looked back and forth between James and Sirius, looking nervous and a bit like a rat with a twitching nose.

"Just give me a goddamned dare already." he said through gritted teeth, looking anywhere but at Marlene, who was looking a little confused and a little smug.

"Fine. How about this," Remus chuckled. "During Transfiguration on Monday you climb on top of the desk in the middle of the lesson and declare your undying love for McGonagal. Tell her she's the only woman that has touched your heart, and it will stay that way for the rest of your life."

I was gasping for breath because I was laughing so hard by the end of Remus's given dare. Sirius didn't look too happy but every other person in the room-with the exceptions of the Ravenclaw and Amos-was laughing almost as hard as I was.

"That's a good one Moony." James said through his laughter. I was leaning against him again, laughing so hard that my sides were starting to ache.

"Hahaha you are all such funny blokes, aren't you." Sirius grumbled, but the affect was lost because he was smiling.

"You know you would be lost without us Padfoot, so stop complaining." Remus said through a yawn.

Everyone had all stopped laughing, the chuckles replaced by yawns instead. I remembered something I had read in Potions, that an after-effect of taking large doses of Veritaserum was induced sleepyness.

I yawned loudly and felt my eyes start to shut as I sank into James, who was leaned back against a couch that he had magically pulled up.

"Hey sleepyhead, don't go to sleep just yet. Everybody's leaving right now, then we can both go to our own rooms and sleep." James said, stroking my hair softly.

I nodded, my head rubbing against his toned torso. James sat up, pulling my with him, and when he stood he pulled me up too. I stumbled as the world started spinning around me and he pulled me into his side to steady me.

Sirius and Remus had already taken the liberty of waking up the sixth year and sending his off to the Ravenclaw common room, and Marlene was saying goodbye to Amos, no affection what-so-ever, before sending him off to the Hufflepuff common room.

James walked me over to where Alice, Frank, and Marlene were standing and let me say goodnight to them. We exchanged friendly hugs and after Marlene whispered a thank you in my ear, the three of them took off, heading back to the Gryffindor common room to get some sleep. I just hoped they didn't get caught being out after hours.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all standing by the couch, waiting for James and me.

"Tonight was...interesting." I mumbled, stiffling another huge yawn.

"Thanks for letting us have this party in here Lily." Remus said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him and gave him a hug.

"No problem Remus, it really wasn't even as bad as I thought it would be."

I turned to Sirius, who held his arms out, expecting a hug. "Thanks for the party place Evans," he smirked. "We'll have to do it again real soon."

I shook my head and gave him a hug. Same old Sirius, always teasing me. I couldn't complain though, because I loved all four of the Marauders. I couldn't imagine life without them.

"Not a chance Black." I laughed.

"Oh, we'll see what the future brings us."

I turned to Peter, still shaking my head in amusement.

"Thanks for what you did during the game Lily. Making me feel better like that." he said in his squeaky voice.

"Of course Peter. You shouldn't feel bad about that. Really, it's nothing to feel bad about anyways."

"I know that now." he said.

I hugged him tightly and he smiled at me when I pulled away. No matter how strange he was, he was a Marauder, and he was a friend.

I waited as James said goodbyes to his best mates, and even though I loved them, I sighed heavily with relief when they finally left. I was exhausted and all I really wanted was to go to bed.

"C'mon Lils, its late. Let's get you to bed." James said. I nodded and leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around me. I let him steer me to the stairs and up them where he stopped in front of my bedroom door.

"Thank you James." I yawned once again. Attractive Lily, really attractive.

"Goodnight Lils. Get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

He turned to go, walking in the direction of his bedroom, but I stopped him. I don't know what overcame me, if it was because I was deliriously tired or if it was still the alcohol, but I grabbed him arms.

"James...wait."

James turned back to look at me, a confused look on his face. "What's the matter?"

I took a step so that I was directly in front of him and breathed in his incredible smell. Standing on my tiptoes, I put my hands on his shoulders and leaned in. When my lips met his I sighed, loving the feel of his lips against mine. I pulled back and James was still frozen in shock, his eyes searching my face.

"Goodnight James. See you in the morning." I whispered.

Before he could say or do anything, I walked back into my room and shut the door quietly. I kicked of my pants and pulled my sweater over my head, climing into bed in just my underwear. I was really too tired to even care.

After a few minutes of my laying in bed quietly, I heard James making his way to his room, the door shutting behind him.

I sighed again, remembering the feel of his soft lips against mine, and the smell of him. I knew I would regret it in the morning, when I had sobered up, but for now, I chose to lay there in bed, falling asleep thinking about James.

_A/N: So what did you think? Did I reach expectations? I hope so! _

_Now please, make me one of the happiest fanfiction authors in the WORLD and REVIEW! :))))_

_I LOVEEEE YOOUUUU ALLL, and I LOVE reading your reviews! They seriously make my day! Your reviews keep me writing, and I really appreciate all the feedback I have gotten! I really think it helps me improve as an author. _

_So please keep it up! Thank you! :D_


	14. Hangovers & Voldemort All in One Morning

_A/N: Thank you all for the amazing reviews! We're up to 118 right now, and I absolutely love that! Every single review, alert, and favorite I get makes my day and blows my mind. To think that I'm just a silly sixteen year old girl who loves to write, and I'm getting all this amazing feedback...its just incredible! Thank you all so much, and I really hope I can make you as happy as you make me by updating new chapters! :)_

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Hangovers and Voldemort, All In One Morning**

_"James?" I called, walking towards the shores of the lake. The figure ahead of me, standing on the shore, didn't move or turn, but I knew he had heard me. I wasn't sure what I was doing out here, in the middle of the night, standing by the Great Lake in my pajama shorts no less, but if there was one thing I was sure of, it was that James was indeed the person standing before me. _

_I continued forward cautiously, the fine sand getting in between the toes of my bare feet with each step I took. When I reached James, I placed a hand on his shoulder. He finally turned around and his face lit up when he saw that it was me. _

_"James, what in the name of Merlin's mother are you doing out here? It's the middle of the night, and it's cold. We need to get back." I said, pulling his arm, trying to get him to return to the castle with me. _

_"Lily, wait." James said, taking a deep breath. "I have something to tell you." _

_"Can't it wait until we get inside?" _

_"Lily, I love you. I always have."_

_"Well I love you too James, you're my best guy friend." I replied, confused. I was still tugging his arm, trying to get him to go back inside with me. He pulled away and grabbed my hands, holding them lightly between his._

_"No, Lily, you don't understand. I'm in love with you. You're the only girl I want to be with, ever. You're it for me." he said seriously, his eye boreing into mine. _

_I felt my head start to pound and everything started fading to black. No...this couldn't be happening. James loved me? I didn't believe it. Marlene and Alice couldn't have been right. James and I were friends, why was he doing this to me?_

_"Lily?" he asked, concern melding into his features. "Lily!"_

"Lily?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking my lightly, along with someone calling my name. What the hell? It was Saturday, I should be allowed to sleep in.

"Go away." I groaned, pulling the covers over my head and turning away.

"Lily, you have to wake up now." said the bodiless voice. I swatted away the hand that tried to pull the covers off of me and burrowed further down the bed.

I felt really terrible. My head was pounding so bad it felt like someone had thrown me in reach of the whomping willow and I was being beaten over the head with the vicious branches. My stomach felt like it had shrank overnight, and while I wanted to eat something, even the thought of food made me feel sick. I was never going to drink again.

"I don't want to get up. It's the weekend for crying out loud."

Whoever was trying to get me up pulled the pillow out from under my head, albeit gently, and my head bounced against the mattress, making my head pound even more. I moaned and held my hands up to my head, covering my eyes from the light shining into the room from the window. With my hands not grabbing onto the blankets, they were free to be pulled off of me, and I suddenly remembered I was only wearing my underwear, having been too lazy-and intoxicated- to put on my pajamas the night before.

I opened my eyes and sat up quickly, pulling my knees to my body and searching for something to cover myself with, wincing at the sharp pain that rang through my head at the sudden movement. James was standing there, looking rather embarrassed, and I blushed. Shit, James had now seen me in both a towel, and my underwear. What was next? Me being completely naked?

"Oh, erm, my bad Lily." James mumbled, turning away from me and handing me back my blanket. I blushed more than I had ever blushed before, remembering the dream I had just been woken up from, and at the fact that James had just seen me in my panties. Today was not starting off good.

"What are you doing in here James?" I asked, holding a hand to my head to try and get the throbbing to subside as I wrapped the blanket around myself. "You can turn around now, by the way."

James turned, his face red also, and instead of looking at me, he looked out the window, which was directly behind me. Good, he should be embarrassed too.

"Well, I brought you this," he said, pulling out a small vial of an unpleasant looking muddy brown liquid. "And I thought you might want to eat some breakfast before Quidditich tryouts."

I eyed the vial uneasily, my stomach turning uncomfortably. "What is that, exactly?"

"It's a sobering draught. Trust me, it'll make you feel loads better." James said, holding the little container out for me to take from him.

I grabbed it and uncorked the lid. Without thinking much about what was in it, I tipped the vial back and swallowed the contents in one go. I blanched as the draught went down my throat stickily. That was the most disgusting thing I had ever drank in my life.

"Ugh." I said, making a funny face and causeing James to laugh at me. "Oh hush." I said, smiling a bit. The sobering draught was actually making me feel a little bit better, and for that I was greatful. The pounding in my head was now only a dull thud, and it was slowly subsiding.

"So, you are going to watch Quidditich tryouts, aren't you?" James asked, putting his hands back into the pockets of his trousers.

I nodded. "Aren't I supposed to be there? As your girlfriend, I believe I am required."

"Well, it's true that my past girlfriends have been there, but you don't have to go if you don't want to Lily. It was never my goal to force you to be places that you didn't want to be."

"It's fine James, I like watching Quidditich anyways. This should be fun." I reassured him.

"Well Remus and Peter will be there too, so you'll have company."

"Brilliant. Marlene and Alice, those lucky witches, get to sleep in, so I'll need someone to sit with so I don't look like a sodding prat up there by myself." I joked. Merlin that draught worked fast, I was feeling almost back to normal.

James laughed. "Was I right? You'll want breakfast before we head out correct?"

"Definately, now that I'm feeling better." I said, pushing a stray strand of hair out of my face. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"No problem Lily. I took one right when I woke up, and I thought you might want one too, seeing how you drank even more than I did last night."

I groaned. "I didn't make a fool out of myself, did I? I'm kind of blurry on the events of the night."

James looked at me, and undefinable look in his hazel eyes. "No Lily, you didn't make a fool out of yourself." he said softly, then he shook his head. "I'll just be outside then, so you can get dressed. Then we can go down and grab a bite to eat."

"Okay. Thanks James." I said, watching as he walked out of my room. I couldn't help but wonder what had transpired last night. James was acting strangely, I had had that dream, and I, apparently, had been piss drunk. I couldn't help but feel like I had done something very unlike myself, I just wasn't sure what it was...yet.

I stood slowly after James had closed the door, throwing the blanket back over the bed and grabbing a pair of jeans and a black tanktop out of my wardrobe. I hesitated before dressing, debating on whether I wanted to take a shower or not. I knew the shower would make me feel even better than the sobering draught, but I didn't have time for it right now. I would just have to wait until tonight to shower, I thought, sighing.

I slipped into the jeans, which fit comfortably even though they rode low on my hips. I pulled the tanktop on quickly as I walked over to my small vanity in the corner of the room. I picked up my brush, running it through my hair, feeling my body relax at the familiar action. When I managed to get all the tangles out, I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and tied my red and gold colored ribbon around the hairtye.

After swiping my thick red lashes with mascara and lining my lower lids with black liner, I slipped my cute little black flats on and was ready to go.

James was waiting downstairs in the common room, looking around at the mess that had been made the night before.

"Merlin's pants, I don't recall it being this messed up in here...Maybe I really was drunk." I chuckled, grabbing for my wand, which was sticking out of the back pocket of my jeans.

"I didn't think it was this bad either. Don't worry about it though, I'll clean in up when we get back. We're going to miss breakfast if we try and do it now." James said.

I nodded. He was right, and I really didn't want to miss breakfast. It wasn't like the mess wasn't going to be there when we got back from tryouts.

"Here, this is for you, if you want to wear it that is." James said, looking a little embarrassed as he held his hand out. I took the shirt from him, and unfolded it.

It was scarlet, with gold letters on the front and back. The Gryffindor lion was stitched into the chest, right over where a person's heart would be. 'Captain' was stiched directly below that in gold letters and curling script. I looked up at James, who was looking at me, trying to gauge my reaction. I returned my gaze to the shirt, turning it over to look at the back. There, across the shoulders, it read 'Potter' in huge letters. I couldn't believe it, he was giving me last year's Quidditich uniform shirt to wear. I knew that he usually hung them on the walls in his dorm room, and during the summer in his bedroom at hsi house. It was a very big gesture, for James.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked, clutching the shirt to my chest. I already didn't want to give it back, for some reason, but I felt the need to ask.

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure Lily." James chuckled, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Thank you James." I said happily, throwing my arms around him in a hug. His arms went around me slowly, and he hugged me back. When I pulled away, he was looking away, a far off look in his eyes.

I shook my head, wondering what his problem was. He was acting pretty strangely today...I wondered, once again, if I had done something stupid last night. I shrugged and slipped the shirt over my head, trying to not mess up my hair.

The shirt was big on me, and it hung down past my butt. The sleeves were baggy, but it was really comfortable and I felt important while wearing it. James had never given any of his girlfriends his Quidditich jersey before, and I was only his fake girlfriend. Lizabeth was going to die when she saw this, I grinned.

"So how do I look?" I asked, spinning in a little circle.

James looked back at me and smirked. "Like my very beautiful girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes. "Well thank you, my very cocky boyfriend." I laughed. It was still strange, hearing James calling me his girlfriend, but not in the same way it had been before. Now, I felt a weird pang in my stomach because I knew that it was all fake.

"You ready to go then?" he asked, his eyes shining in his usual, mischevious way once again.

"Absolutely. I'm starving!" I said, heading towards the portrait hole.

James followed me out and we made our way through the mostly deserted corridors in comfortable silence. We were holding hands, like we always did when we walked around the castle together, not wanting to run into Lizabeth and not seem couple-like.

Only a few corridors off from the Great Hall, we heard voices in one of the empty classrooms. It sounded like there was an arguement going on, and I paused, the Head girl in me coming out in full. James stopped as well and held his finger to his lips as we crept closer to the door that was slightly ajar.

We both looked inside the room, where three seventh year Slytherins were argueing, one of them-a girl-gesturing wildly. I tried to make out the faces of the three students, but I could only see one of them-Severus. He was standing nearest to the door, stiff as a board and looking as though he wanted nothing more than to just leave the room and the other two students behind.

"I don't see why you're so concerned about the little Mudblood Severus. You know how the Dark Lord feels about those scum. Besides, her and that idiot Potter are dating. You obviously don't matter to her." hissed a female voice that was vaugely familiar to me, though I couldn't seem to place a name with a face.

"You wouldn't understand Bellatrix. You are incapable of feelings, therefore you wouldn't be able to understand them. I know the Dark Lord's word, maybe even better than you, so don't try and use that against me." Snape said, crossing his arms over his skinny chest.

"Watch the way you talk to her!" bellowed another male voice angrily. "You act like you're the Dark Lord's favorite Severus, but who is the one with the Dark Mark? Oh, right, me. I'm the one he chose. I'm in charge here."

I looked at James, who looked furious. I was scared. This was really serious stuff they were talking about. Voldemort, the mass muggle and muggle-born killer. The one who had been terrorizing any wizard who wasn't pureblood. He was trying to take over the wizarding world, and he was serious about it. There had been numerous attacks in both the wizarding world and the muggle world.

"Don't start with me Lestrange." Snape snapped.

"You better watch it Severus," laughed Bellatrix evily. "You can be killed just as easily as all those Mudbloods, don't forget that."

Snape stayed quiet this time, seemingly thinking over what Bellatrix had just said to him.

"We better get going anyways. Breakfast should be over soon, and I don't want to be caught coming out of an empty classroom by some idiotic prefect or some suspicious teacher." said the male who had claimed to have the Dark Mark.

My eyes widened. They were coming out, and they would surely spot James and me. It wouldn't be too hard to figure out that we had been listening to their conversation. James grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the door with amazing speed. We crouched down behind one of the enormous statues that decorated the hallway, waiting for the group of corrupt students to leave the classroom and vacate the corridor.

I placed my hand over my mouth, not wanting my rapid breathing to give us away, and James pulled me into his side, rubbing circles into my back. I watched as Severus exited the room first. Next came the female, Bellatrix. I recognized her as Sirius's cousin, whom he despised. She had wild, curly black hair that seemed electrified, and wide eyes that made her look crazy and dangerous. She paused by the door, waiting for the last person, the one with the Dark Mark. Rodolpho Lestrange strode out of the room and Bellatrix fell into step with him, looking up at him with what was probably supposed to be adoration, but it really just looked like psychoticness. Lestrange was a big bloke, with huge squared shoulders and a thick torso. He would tower over James if they stood face to face, and he could probably break him in half. I shuddered. I couldn't help but wonder if he was half giant or something.

James and I stayed there, crouched behind the statue, barely breathing, until we couldn't hear footsteps anymore.

"Let me check if they're gone, you stay down." he said, standing up and peeking around the statue. He glanced up and down the hall, then turned back to me. "C'mon Lily, let's get out of here."

I grabbed the hand he held out for me with my own shaking hand and stood up, dusting off my bottom.

"James, we have to report that to Professor Dumbledore or someone." I said quietly, not trusting my voice.

"Lily, what we just heard," James said, keeping his voice low so we wouldn't be overheard, "that's dark stuff. But Dumbledore won't be able to do anything about it until we can get proof that they're up to something."

I thought about it. James was right. What would Dumbledore be able to do about what we heard when we didn't have any proof? Nothing.

"We have to keep an eye on them then." I said, determined. Now that the fear was wearing off, I was furious. Those kids, they were following man who was so purely evil that he was killing large groups of people for the simple fact that he didn't like their blood. It was sickening, and it needed to stop.

James stopped and looked at me, his hazel eyes full of unreadable emotion. "Don't worry about that Lily. They were talking about you, for some reason, and I plan on finding out exactly why."

I stood there, looking up into James's eyes. He looked so serious, and so angry, just because they had been talking about me. I felt my eyes burn with unshed tears and tried to blink them away unsuccessfully. James pulled me into him, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

"It's okay Lily, they won't hurt you. I won't let them. You can cry, love, go ahead." he murmured soothingly.

I buried my head in his chest, but I fought the tears. I would not be weak, not now. I couldn't. I pulled back and looked up at James. He still had his arms around me, and that gave me a little more courage. I took a deep breath.

"James, we're going to find out what they are up to together. I'm not going to just sit around and do nothing. I can't. Not anymore. Ever since Voldemort started rising to power, I've been sitting around doing nothing. I don't care about the fact that we're only seventeen. There must be something we can do." I said fiercely.

James looked at me, shock and pride coloring his features simultaneously.

"Merlin Lily, I've never seen you so determined. But you're right. Who gives a damn that we're only seventeen. We aren't children, and Voldemort, he needs to be stopped. Lestrange...he's our age and he has the Mark. If seventeen year olds are joining the Dark side, who in the hell says they can't join the good too?"

I gazed up at him, my heart pounding. James was...incredible. He made me feel safe, and he gave me courage. He made me feel special, and important. I was so lucky to have him in my life. He looked at me, and I watched as his eyes darkened. I bit my lip and felt his chest rise and fall with each breath he took.

"James," I whispered.

"Yeah Lils?" he asked quietly.

"Will you just kiss me already?"

He blinked, startled at my abruptness. Honestly, I was too. I don't know what overcame me, but I really wanted James to kiss me, this time without an audience. I wanted it to mean something, to be real.

James leaned towards me slowly and I let my eyes flutter closed. My heart started to race in anticipation of his kiss. I felt his warm, sweet smelling breath on my face and smiled a little. James was...different. Things between us were different, though I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

His lips were almost on mine and I felt his chest shake silently. He was teasing me and he knew it.

"Jaaamess..." I groaned. His lips brushed across mine lightly in an almost kiss. Oh Merlin this was torture.

"Prongs!" Sirius shouted, out of nowhere. "There you are mate!"

My eyes sprung open and I backed away from James quickly, my face instantly going fire engine red. There was Sirius, sauntering down the corridor toward up, a huge smirk on his face.

"I didn't interrupt anything now did I?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes. I was going to bloody kill him, bloody stupid prat.

"What do you want Padfoot?" James asked, soundly seriously peeved himself.

"Well we sort of need our Captain at tryouts now don't we?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrow, that smirk of his still plastered on his smug face.

"Oh, right." James said, glancing at me.

I sighed. "Let's go then. Wouldn't want to keep the wanna-bes waiting, would we?"

James looked at me apologetically but I waved it away. Sirius's interruption was for the best anyway. It saved me a lot of regret and prevented a lot of awkwardness between James and I.

Now I was just pissed that I hadn't gotten any breakfast, I thought as we walked outside in the direction of the Quidditich pitch. It was going to be a very long morning with an empty stomach, I knew that for a fact.

_A/N: So what did you think? I thought I would throw in some Slytherin action, and I really wanted to show that Lily is a strong young woman who eventually will be able to sacrifice herself to save her son. Please let me know what you thought about that :)_

_Also, this is where the relationship with James and Lily begins to change...drastically. There will be some drama in the upcoming chapters! But it won't be too much, and it won't be the kind of drama that isn't fun to read about...or at least I hope it won't be! Guess you'll just have to check back and read the upcoming chapters won't you? ;)_

_So please, update and let me know what you think. Inspire me with your reviews and I will upload more chapters quickly! :) _

_Oh, and I just have to say, I love you all! All of you reading this and reviewing...you are fantastic. Please keep it up! :D 3_


	15. Revelations and Hurt Make You Stronger

_A/N: I am so sorry for the wait for this update! Let's just say, taking two AP classes and putting the summer work off until nine days before school starts is a bad idea! I have been working on that work, and I haven't been able to write for this until now, but here it is! I'm back! :)_

_Anyways, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, so please be lovely and review! _

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Revelations and Hurt Make You Stronger**

After walking down to the Quidditich pitch with James and Sirius, being completely ignored, I was even more peeved than when Sirius had interrupted James and I from our kiss. Without saying a word of good-bye to James, I marched up the stairs, my stomach growling unattractively the whole way.

"Ouch, not even a wave good-bye," I heard Sirius say, "that time of the month or something, mate?"

"I dunno." James said, and I could just picture him going a little white in the face as he shrugged. James always got a little queasy when anything about femine things came into the picture, and I always loved to tease him about it. I didn't see how somebody who had had as many girlfriends as he had could be so squimish about things, but he managed to.

I wanted to turn and spit a witty comeback out, but I decided not to. James didn't really deserve that, it was Sirius that was irritating me, and I didn't want him to have to deal with me argueing with his best mate right before he held tryouts for this year's Quidditich team.

I continued up the stairs, my legs burning with the effort by the time I reached the highest middle level of the stands, where Remus and Peter were sitting at. There were a few other Gryffindors occupying the benches, waiting to get a sneak preview of the new team, and it took me a minute to pick out Remus's golden hair at the far end of the section.

"Excuse me." I said as I squeezed between a couple that was sitting in the same row as Remus and Peter. I made my way down the aisle occasionally having to squeeze past people. Why they couldn't move their bloody knees to the side, I didn't know, but I found it quite annoying.

"Lily!" Remus exclaimed when he spotted me. I flopped down into the seat, my stomach grumbling once again.

"Hey Remus. Peter." I said unenthusiastically. I really didn't do well on an empty stomach, and though I felt bad for being so rude to them, I couldn't bring myself to be cheerful either.

"Still hungover?" Remus asked, smiling faintly.

I shook my head. "No, James gave me something to help that. I missed breakfast though." I grumbled. Merlin, I was a real witch. Both literally and figuratively.

"Good thing I thought to bring this then, yeah?" Remus asked, grinning broadly now. He pulled out a bag and handed it to me. "It's all yours Lily. Peter and I gorged on the bacon at breakfast anyway."

I took the back, looking at Remus hopefully. If he had brought food, and had just given me the bag full of it, I would love him forever. I slowly opened the bag and peeked inside.

My mouth started watering instantly. There was bacon and a waffle, all wrapped up in a napkin, accompanied by cookies, chocolate, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

I looked back up at Remus adoringly. "I swear I am going to love you forever and ever Remus." I said ferverently.

He chuckled. "Don't let Lizabeth hear you say that."

"I don't care if she hears me! You are like a god. My stomach would bow down to you if it was capable of doing so." I said as I pulled out the napkin with the bacon inside it. I grabbed one of the crispier pieces and bit into it, savoring the deliciousness.

"Mmmmmm." I moaned as I swallowed, taking another huge bite.

"I'll let the house elves know you enjoyed your breakfast." Remus laughed, watching as I ate every piece of the bacon in under three minutes, licking my fingers when I was done.

"Please do. It's like Merlin's mother herself made this food." I grinned, reaching for my waffle. I held it out to him. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm stuffed, thanks."

I turned to Peter. "Did you want some, Peter?"

"Oh, no...no thanks Lily." Peter squeaked, the tips of his ears turning red when I addressed him. I looked at Remus, confused. Why was Peter acting so weird? Remus shook his head and rolled his eyes.

I shrugged and turned back to my lovely waffle. Merlin, I loved food. It was surprising that I wasn't three hundred pounds or more, but I was definately glad that I had a good metabolism.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here's some syrup." Remus said, pulling out a bottle full of the dark brown liquid. "

"How did you know I didn't like to eat waffles without syrup?" I asked, taking the bottle gratefully.

"Oh, well James mentioned it the other day...I just remembered it I guess." he said simply.

I raised my eyebrow. James had just casually mentioned that I didn't like to eat waffles without syrup? Why was he even talking about me and my eating habits?

"Oh...okay." I said, choosing to just leave it alone. It didn't really matter, it just seemed a little strange.

After eating my waffle, I closed the bag up and held it towards Remus.

"Thank you Rem, that made my morning." I grinned, licking a bit of syrup off the side of my hand.

"Really Lily, it's no problem. I figured James would wake you up late and be the cause of you missing breakfast. Plus, I no how you get on an empty stomach." He chuckled, shaking his head.

I elbowed him in the ribs, laughing as well. Peter was being strangely quiet, but I left him alone, letting him dwell in the thoughts that he seemed to be prefering as company.

"Here, Remus, take the bag back, I'm full now." I said after having caught my breath from laughing.

Remus shook his head and pushed the bag back towards me. "Lily, I gave it to you, all of it. It's yours, now stop trying to give it back."

I sighed and stuffed the bag into my pocket, knowing Remus was going to be stubborn and refuse to take it.

I focused on the pitch, where James and the others were gathered in a circle on the field. James was talking, gesturing wildly and occasionally running his hands through his hair. I smiled. James really was...amazing. I just couldn't get over it, and even though it was really strange, I found that I didn't mind as much as I had before.

After a few minutes of silently watching the prospective players, I turned to Remus. He was leaned back comfortably in his seat, reading a book. I laughed and he looked up, blushing a little.

"Yes, Lily?" he asked, embarrassed.

"Remus, can I ask you a question?" I inquired.

He put his feet down and sat up, placing a bookmark in his book before giving me his full attention. "Shoot."

I blushed, biting my lip. I didn't really know how to ask what I truly wanted to know, so I asked something else I had been wondering instead. "Did I do anything...unlike me last night? I don't really remember everything that happened."

Remus seemed to think about my question for a minute, leaning his hand on his chin and blowing his hair out of his eyes. "There wasn't anything that I can remember that was too extreme...and I only had a few sips of my drink, so I wasn't as drunk as everyone else. Why?"

I blew out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I was just wondering, is all."

"I wouldn't worry about it Lily. Honestly, everything that happened last night happened in good fun."

I nodded, still chewing on my bottom lip. "Okay, thanks Remus. I'm glad that I can talk to you about things like this."

Remus smiled and put his large hand over mine on my knee. "Of course Lily. You can talk to me about whatever you want. What're friends for, right?"

I grinned. "Right."

Two hours later, try-outs were over and I made my way down to the pitch with Remus and Peter. They left me at the bottom, making their way up to the castle, leaving me to go meet James in the changing room.

I stopped right outside the door. Was I allowed to just walk in? I didn't know the policy for girlfriends and the changing room. Fake girlfriends, that is. I stood there, chewing my lip and arguing with myself about what to do.

Deciding to just wait outside, I turned around and ran smack into Lizabeth. I groaned. She was the last person I wanted to see at the moment.

"Oh, it's you." Lizabeth sneered. Like she didn't know who I was when she walked over here...right.

"Yeah, it's me. Is there a problem?" I snapped right back. Seeing Lizabeth brought back a lot of memories from the night before. Like sitting on the couch, snogging James Potter senseless, and being snogged senseless right back, and having every person in the room watch as it happened.

"Of course there is a problem. You don't deserve to be down here, Evans."

"And you do? James is _my _boyfriend, not yours, and I don't recall you having a boyfriend, Vane. To busy chasing after someone who doesn't want you."

"Admit it! You're just using James! You don't love him, you don't care about him at all. You hated him for five bloody years!"

I stopped, caught off guard. Had I really hated James for all those years? Or was it something else? And how did I feel about him now? He was my best friend that was a bloke, but did I care about him? Could it ever be possible for me to love him?

Lizabeth looked triumphant as she crossed her arms over her large chest.

"What do you think I'm using James for?" I asked quietly, my eyes stinging. Merlin, I was not going to let this little girl make me cry, I thought as I bit down on my lip so hard that I tasted blood.

"To try and get some status of course! All you are is a muggle-born snob who thinks she knows everything. James is a pure-blood, Quidditich captain, Head Boy, and his parents are some of the best Aurors ever. You're just using him to get to his money, and to try and raise yourself above the muggleborn status. Everyone knows it. People talk, Evans."

"You bitch!" I exclaimed. I felt a tear slide down my face and wiped it away quickly. Lizabeth laughed, taking joy out of hurting me. And that's exactly what she had done, hurt me. Did people really think that about me and James? That I was just 'with' him so I could rise above the muggle born status that I had?

I turned on my heel and hurried into the changing rooms, away from Lizabeth. The tears were falling freely now, and I couldn't seem to stop them. I felt like Lizabeth had just stabbed me with a really sharp blade, and twisted it in extra deep, just to get a laugh out of it. I didn't understand how she could be so cruel.

I looked around, searching for James or Sirius, and finally saw them at the very end of the room, changing from their Quidditich practice clothes and into their regular ones. They looked so happy, standing there, laughing like brothers, discussing thing that had happend during tryouts. I really didn't want to go over there are wreck their moods, but I couldn't go back out and face Lizabeth.

I took a deep breath and headed towards them, trying my best to stop the tears that were still flowing. I was sure my makeup was smeared, and I looked like a total mess, but there were more important things to worry about now. The first being asking James if he had heard the rumors that were going around.

Sirius saw me first, and he nugged James in the side, nodding his head in my direction. I gave a weak smile, but I couldn't hold it for more than a second.

"Lily? What's wrong?" James asked, walking towards me. I met him halfway and he wrapped his arms around me tightly, allowing me to burry my head in his chest, just as I had earlier that morning. "Lily?"

"James...I-did you know about..." I started before I began to cry again, my tears drowning out my ability to speak. I felt so weak, so far from the girl that had been determined to find a way to stand up to Voldemort just this morning, but Lizabeth had hit the right spot, and she had hit it hard.

She had brought back all the memories of when Severus had called me a mudblood in fifth year. The loss of my best friend was hard to deal with, and the reason behind it just made things even worse. I tried to be strong about it, act like I didn't care, but I still thought about it sometimes, and it always hurt. There was always a dull ache in my heart...and this incident turned the dull ache into a strong throb.

"Did I hear about what Lils?" James asked me, pulling back so he could look at my face. He looked concerned, as did Sirius, whom I could see out of the corner of my eye.

I blinked a few times, blinking away the last few tears. Taking a deep breath, I looked around the room. I couldn't be so weak, not when there was more going on the the world, not when muggles and muggle-borns were being killed each and every day. I couldn't let something like that effect me so much. It was hard, but I had to be strong. It hurt, but I had to fight through that pain so that I could put a stop to it, one day.

"James," I finally said, looking him directly in the eye, "James, I need to talk to you, alone. When you're done here, can we take a walk before heading up to the castle?"

He nodded slowly. "Sure Lily, if that's what it'll take for you to tell me what's wrong."

"Yes, I'll tell you everything okay? I just can't do it in here." I explained, pulling away from him. After looking at me for a second James turned and walked back over to Sirius, who was questioning him about me, most likely.

I turned away and wiped away the mascara from under my eyes, making up my mind on what I had to do. I knew I had made a promise to James, but sometimes things changed. Things were changing, I was changing. I just didn't want to have to break the news to him in the changing room. I didn't want to ruin this place, his place, for him.

I sighed, knowing that I would probably regret what I was going to do, even though I didn't quite understand the reason that I would regret it yet. All I knew was that I couldn't be weak anymore. It was time for me to grow up.

_A/N: Okay, so there it is...Lily and James are going to have some...shall we say...issues, in the upcoming chapter. And that Lizabeth is quite a cow isn't she? ;)_

_Hope you liked it! Please, please, please review! If I get a decent amount of reviews for this chapter, I might just post another chapter either tonight, or by tomorrow at noon at the lastest! :D So there's your incentive to review! _


	16. GoodBye

_A/N: Okay, so I know that this is a really short chapter, but I didn't really want to drag it out, plus, it was really hard to write, because honestly, I really dislike this chapter. :/ _

_But I hope you like it! I'm just really biased, because it's my own work, and I'm really critical about everything I write. ;P_

_Anyway, Happy Reading! xx_

**Good-Bye**

I walked beside James along the edge of the lake, chewing my lip, I had no idea where to start. I really hadn't expected any of this to be this hard, but it was. Nothing could be easy for me, apparently. I took a deep breath and wrapped my arms around myself to try and ward off the chill coming off the water.

"Here, take this." James said, breaking the silence and shrugging off his jacket.

"James, no, I can't. You need it." I said, shaking my head, refusing to take the jacket. I already had his shirt, I didn't need his jacket too. He stared at me for second, his hazel eyes unreadable, before he draped the jacket around my shoulders anyways.

I sighed. James was stubborn, as was I. This was going to be difficult.

"So, Lily, are you going to tell me what this is all about now?" He asked, looking at me intensely.

"It's...Lizabeth. Something she said to me today, right before I showed up in the changing room, it really made me think."

"Yeah, it made you cry too. What did she say to you Lily?" James asked. I could tell he was getting irritated with me. He wasn't the most patient person in the world, that was for sure.

"She said I was using you okay?" I said, exasperated, more with myself than with him. I wouldn't cry about this, not anymore. "She said that the only reason we were together was so that I can attempt to ditch my muggleborn title."

I looked up at James, trying to gauge his reaction. His face was blank, a hard mask, his eyes unreadable. "She said that, did she?" he said, his voice strangely calm. I could still hear the anger though, brewing under the surface.

I nodded, my eyes roaming over his face. I couldn't believe how much everything had changed in just a week. It wasn't possible for your whole life to turn upside down and inside out in a week, was it?

James had gone from being my best friend to my fake boyfriend, and my feelings for him...they changed too. I wasn't even sure what I felt anymore.

"Well you know that's not true Lily. What Lizabeth says, it doesn't matter. That's just her saying it to try and hurt you because of me. I'm sorry, so sorry, that she said it. I'll talk to her, and it'll all be fine again." James said. He had stopped walking and turned to face me, grabbing my shoulders and turning me to face him as well.

"James," I said, my voice cracking. I swallowed and blew out a breath, then tried again. "James, it's not that easy."

"Of course it's that easy Lily. I'll go and tell her that she needs to apologize to you, because that's not true. It'll be okay." James said. His voice was starting to get a little shaky too, and I would have given anything to know what he was thinking at that moment.

Why did he care so much? I was only his fake girlfriend now, after all.

"James, I don't think we should do this anymore." I said quietly, looking over his shoulder, out across the lake. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. I knew I would cry if I did.

"Do what Lily? You don't know if we should do what?" James questioned, his voice definately shaky now.

"You know what I'm talking about James." I replied, "I'm sorry."

I felt a single tear slip down my cheek, and I bit my lip. I really didn't want to be crying about this, not in front of James. I was ending a fake relationship, not a real one. A fake relationship that I hadn't even wanted in the first place. I had no reason to cry.

So why did it feel like a little part of my heart was being ripped out? I wondered.

"Say it Lily. Just say it goddammit." James said. There was a tinge of some emotion in his voice that I couldn't quite place, and I looked back at him, tearing my gaze from the lake.

"Why are you doing this James? You know what I'm saying, why do I have to say the words?"

"Because, Lily. I know you, and I know you don't really mean this. You don't want it, just as much as I don't want it." James paused, shutting his eyes as if he was in pain. He opened them slowly, and when he spoke, his voice was no longer shaky. "Lily, I love you. And I know that you care about me, or you're starting to at least. Please, don't push me away before we can even begin."

I looked at him, frozen. James loved me? What? No, he was lying. He was just trying to get me to keep the lie going, this fake relationship was what he cared about, because he didn't want to deal with Lizabeth. That's all that this was.

"James, no. You don't love me. You've never loved me. I know you used to think you did, but you even admitted, back in fifth year, that you were just an immature kid back then. You never loved me, and you don't now."I said, looking back out at the lake again. I couldn't look into his eyes and say all this, because every time I looked into his eyes, I felt another piece of my heart being torn apart. "I can't do this anymore James. I don't want to be your fake girlfriend."

"Then be my real one Lily!" James shouted, placing his hands on either side of my face and turning me to look at him. He kept his hands there, on the sides of my face, and leaned in close to me. I could feel his hot breath on my face, and smell his minty breath. "I don't want you as a fake girlfriend, I want you as my real one. That's all I've ever wanted."

I closed my eyes. Why? Why did he have to do this? Couldn't he see that it was hurting me? I didn't even know how I felt about him...were we friend? Did I care about him as more than that? Was it even possible for me to love him?

"Lily." James whispered, his breath light on my face. I sighed, but kept my eyes closed. I didn't want to look into his deep hazel eyes. I didn't want to see what was hidden there, behind the green and gold flecks. I didn't want to fall for James Potter, and I didn't want to get hurt. I was afraid. "Lily, please."

I opened my mouth, about to ask him to stop. Just stop. I couldn't do this anymore, but then his mouth was on mine, and I couldn't breath, let alone think. All I could do was feel.

James's hands remained on the side of my face, keeping me from pulling away from him. His mouth moved expertly over mine. I could taste his sweet taste, so purely James, as his tongue slipped into my mouth and tried to force a response out of me. Then the next thing I knew, I was kissing him back. My tongue twisting and tangling with his. My hands flew to his hair, getting tangled in the silky black strands that always stuck up in different directions.

James, now that I was kissing him back, removed his hands from my face. One hand travled down and rested on my hip, pulling my body closer to his, and his other hand went up to my pony-tail. He pulled the tie out expertly, releasing my hair, then he cupped his hand around my neck, tangling his fingers in my red locks.

I sighed into his mouth and he pulled back so we could both catch our breath, although his lips never left my body. They traveled up and around my face, brushing softly across my still-closed eyelids, and then down, to my earlobe, and my jawline. I shivered at the featherlight touch in the most sensitive part of my neck, right over my pulse.

When I had finally caught my breath, I opened my eyes slowly only to see James staring into my eyes.

"Lily, I love you. You have to know that." he said, looking at me, willing me to believe him.

I felt my stomach tighten and my heart give a lurch. Damn him, why couldn't he just leave it? Why did he have to ruin a perfectly good kiss? Maybe he was telling me the truth. Hadn't Marlene and Alice told me that James was in love with me, and that's why he suggested that I be his fake girlfriend? I thought, biting my lip, which was already swollen from James's kisses.

"Why couldn't you just leave it?" I groaned, pulling away from him. I shrugged off his jacket and handed it to him. "James, I can't do this anymore! I can't be your fake girlfriend. You say you love me...well if that's really true, then just let me go okay? I need time, and a lot of space. Just...leave me alone from now on okay?" I said, letting more tears slip down my cheek. "I'm sorry, I just...this all happened to fast, and I can't even think straight."

I looked up at James. He had this unreadable look on his face, and I couldn't quite meet his eyes. He looked at me, his dark eyes scanning my face.

"Are you sure this is what you want Lily?" he asked, so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

I nodded, chewing my lip. The truth was, I wasn't sure at all.

"Fine. If it's what you want, then fine. I give up. I can't wait around for you my whole life Lily Evans." James said.

The tears were flowing steadily now, and I couldn't help but feel like I was making a huge mistake, but I didn't see any other solution. I had no other option...did I?

Before I could say anything, James turned away from me and looked out at the lake, turning his back to me.

"Goodbye James." I whispered, taking one last look at him, his dark hair being ruffled by the wind. His shoulders were stiff, his whole body rigid. I turned away. I had done that to him...I thought sadly. I had caused that tension, that pain. It was my fault.

I walked back up to the castle, alone, the tears falling silently. I knew, deep down, that this was the end. This was goodbye, before anything even began.

What had I done?

_A/N: So what did you think? Ah, I promise, the rest of the chapters will be longer, much longer, than this! :)_

_As long as I get reviews! Because reviews keep me going, and push my to continue to write. So please, review, and I'll post another, longer chapter, and really soon! _

_Can't wait to know what you think about this chapter! :D _


	17. Death Eaters and I Love You's

_A/N: WOW! I got some amazing reviews on the last chapter! Thank you all so much! :) I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but because you are all so amazing and you reviewed, I thought I would update it tonight :) I hope you enjoy this! _

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Death Eaters and I Love You's**

I walked up to the castle alone, fighting the urge to turn around and run back to James. The urge to throw my arms around him and never let go was strong, and it was getting harder and harder to fight.

Halfway up to the castle, I stopped and turned, looking back at James. I could see him, sitting there on the sand next to the choppy water of the lake, his head in his hands. He looked so broken, and my body shook with sobs. I was the one that had caused that, and I would never be able to forgive myself for it.

James was sure to hate me now, after everything. He had been strong enough to tell me how he felt about me, or thought he felt about me, and I was to scared to even admit that there was a chance that I could love him back. I was a coward.

I clamped my lips together, trying to hold in the sobs as I turned back to the castle. I needed to get to my bedroom, and I didn't want to have to stop and talk to anyone along the way. I didn't think I could handle it, and I didn't want to chance running into Lizabeth and her seeing me like this. It would only give her more power over me. Power that I didn't want her to have. She had already ruined everything.

There was nobody around as I walked through the entrance hall, and I breathed a sigh of relief. When I turned the corner, I moved aside a tapestry that I knew opened up a secret passage leading to the corridor right next to the Heads dormitory. I knew that I wouldn't run into anyone along that passage, so after checking that nobody was around to see me, I slipped into the dark passage and let the tapestry fall back into place behind me.

"Lumos." I breathed, pulling my wand out. The tip of my wand illuminated, and I held it above my head so I could see where I was going. There were spiderwebs everywhere, and I couldn't help but wince when I walked straight into one, getting tangled in the glittering strands of web.

The passage was cold, and I felt goosebumps raise on my arms and chest where the cold air hit my skin. I shivered, and it wasn't like the good shivers I got when James was touching me or kissing me. It was a bone chilling shiver, and I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me.

I ran through the passage, my heart pounding in my chest and the hair on the back of my neck raising. I had never been this scared, especially in Hogwarts, but there was something just...wrong. I didn't like it, and I didn't want to be alone in the dark hallway any longer than absolutely nessecary.

I burst out of the end of the passage, breathing hard, and ran smack into something hard. I fell to the ground, my wand rolling across the floor out of my reach. I looked up, my heart still thumping wildly in my chest, though it seemed to stop completely when I realized who Ihad run into.

Rodolphus Lestrange. He was standing over me, an evil smirk on his face. The sleeves of his robes were pushed up to reveal his forearms, and I caught a glimpse of a dark design etched into his skin. The Dark Mark. Oh Merlin.

I was still on the ground, starting up at Lestrange with a mix of horror and shock on my face, when out of the corner of my eye I saw more figures emerging from the shadows in the corridor. It was then that I noticed this side of the castle was eerily quiet, and I realized that it was probably lunchtime, and all the students and teachers were in the Great Hall. There was nobody around, and I was wandless.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" asked a female voice from behind me. I looked behind me quickly and saw Bellatrix Black step out from behind the tapestry. I had been right, there had been someone else in the passage with me. Pushing me towards this ambush.

Was this what they were talking about this morning? I wondered, thinking back to earlier that day, before everything had happened, when James and I had still been happy. I remembered hearing Bellatrix and Lestrange mocking Severus for caring about me, and what happened to me. Had they been planning this?

"What do you want?" I demanded, surprising myself with how steady my voice was. I looked around the circle, trying to see the faces of the others surrounding me, but they kept to the shadows, their faces hidden in the dark.

I watched as Bellatrix walked over and picked up my wand, twirling it inbetween her fingers.

"Don't you dare speak to us like you are an equal, you filthy little mudblood." Lestrange spat, his gaze also fixed on Bellatrix. She siddled up to him and handed him my wand, then proceeded to pull out her own.

They both looked down at me through slitted eyes, and I could see the hatred they had for me- and all others like me- burning there.

I stood up, pushing myself off the dirty stone floor and dusting my pants off. There was no way I was going to stay there and cower in fear of them. They were no better than me, and in actuality, they were worse.

Bellatrix scoffed. "Did you have permission to stand, mudblood?"

"I don't take orders from you, Bellatrix. Nor do I take orders from any Death Eater. All you and your 'Lord' are is scum." I spat. I could feel my legs shaking in fear, but I stood straight and tall, not letting them see. If only I had my wand, I could feel a little safer, but without it, I was pretty much helpless.

Bellatrix's eyes flew wide open in rage and shock that I would dare to call her by her name, or even mention her 'Lord'. Rodolphus was standing there, his eyes contemplative, a hand on Bellatrix's arm, restraining her.

"Well, Mudblood," he began, eyeing me creepily. "My Lord has an offer for you. He knows, as well as you do, that you are talented. You have power. You can serve, if you choose, the Dark Lord. The other option, well, it's not really an option at all, is it? Your other choice is death."

I gaped. Did he really just say what I thought he said? Merlin, today was not the greatest day in the history of my life. I would choose to relive the day that Snape had called me a mudblood over and over again, as long as I never had to remember this day.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed, looking around the circle of dark figures. Obviously this was just as much of a surprise to them as it was to me. "Voldemort kills people like me, and now he's trying to recruit me? I don't believe you. And even if this was real, there is no way in hell that I would ever, ever serve him. He is a sick, sadistic freak!"

I looked at Lestrange, then turned my gaze to Bellatrix. She was standing there, a look of extreme shock on her face, and a burning hatred flashing in her eyes.

Lestrange looked at me calmly, but I could see a tick in his cheek that gave away his anger at my response. "Are you sure mudblood? I'd think very carefully about your next few words. Accidents can always happen, you know."

I narrowed my eyes. Was he seriously threatening me? If they thought that they could get me to change all my thoughts and beliefs that easily, they were crazier that I had ever thought before. If death was the only other option, then that was how it had to be. I would not, ever, be a Death Eater. I would do everything in my power to defeat Voldemort, not join him.

"You can tell your leader to go to hell okay?" I said again, enunciating every word very clearly.

Lestrange lost his control then, and drew his wand, holding it my my throat. Bellatrix had hers drawn as well, and as I glanced around, I saw that every person hidden in the shadows had a wand pointed at me. This could not be happening.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Why had I not just told James how I felt about him?Because I was pretty sure now, faced with my death, that I was in love with him. So what if only a week had passed for us to change from friends to more? So what that everything started with me pretending to be his girlfriend? I was in love with James Potter. And now he would never know it.

A single tear slid down my cheek and I tasted it on my lip.

"Lily!" someone shouted from behind me. Someone sounding strangely like James. I heard footsteps running down the hall towards me, and my eyes flew open. I turned around and saw him, wand out, running towards me as flashes of light flew out of the tip of his wand.

"James!" I yelled back. Before I could move though, I felt something hit me directly in the back, hard. My knees buckled and I fell forwards, unable to move. I couldn't even reach my hands out to break my fall.

"James, I love you...I'm sorry, so sorry." I said, and then everything went black.

_A/N: Okay, so was anyone expecting that? ;) I wasn't either, honestly! But when I sat down to write this it just came out, and I thought that it was pretty good, and I can take it farther in this story :) I hope you weren't too disappointed! _

_Now, please let me know what you thought! :) Because I love to read all the amazing reviews you lovelies have been leaving for me! :D It's just a click away...you know what to do! ;D 3_


	18. Waking Up

_A/N: Ahh sorry about the long wait! I've been super busy with school, so the updates will be a little longer of a wait! I hope you don't hate me! And I hope you enjoy the chapter! _

_Please please please let me know what you think! _

_Happy REading! xx_

**Waking Up**

I was numb, my body light as a feather, though there was pressure on my chest, making it hard to breath. I blinked, trying to focus, only to realize that everything was black. I was surrounded by a cloak of darkness.

There was a light in the distance, and not knowing what else to do, I started towards it. As I drew closer, I realized that it was an illuminated wand, and there was somebody standing there, holding up the wand to let the light guide me. The figure was tall, with a long flowing cloak and a long beard that nearly glowed in the dark for its whiteness.

"Professor Dumbledore?" I inquired, confused as to why the headmaster would be here, wherever it is that I happened to be. I wasn't sure where I was exactly, due to the darkness, and I started to wonder if I was dead. That still didn't explain why Dumbledore would be there though...I thought.

"Ah, Miss Evans...I've been waiting for you." Dumbledore replied, smiling cheerily. He raised the hand holding the wand higher, letting the light glow around the both of us, allowing me to see his smiling face. He beckoned me closer with his other hand, and I stepped forward, stopping when I was right in front of him.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking up into his face. He didn't look worried, or upset or anything...he was just is usual good-natured self. I hoped that meant I wasn't dead, though I was still incredibly confused.

"Well, Lily, you happen to be unconcious. Your body is laying in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, surrounded by your friends-who, if I may add, are very concerned. Madam Pomfrey has had to kick out of the infirmary several times already..." he chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

I smiled a little at that. James would be the one that needed to be removed from the hospital wing, even though we had had our arguement and 'breakup', he still was good enough to worry about me. Oh, how I loved the boy...and how I hoped to Merlin that I would have a chance to tell him.

"So I'm okay then?" I questioned, wanting to clarify that I wasn't dead or anything.

"No, you are not dead, Miss Evans. However, you are injured very badly, and the spell that was used to make you unconcious...it was dark magic. Only you can choose when you wake up, but before you make that decision, I have some things that I need to tell you."

I nodded, still a little confused as to where I was, and why I was there...and why I was the one that chose when I woke up from my coma, but I understood the gist of what he was telling me.

"Okay, I understand. What do you need to tell me sir?" I asked.

"Follow me child, this darkness is no place for the conversation that we need to have." Dumbledore said, letting a tone of seriousness settle in, taking the place of his carefree charm.

I followed Dumbledore through the darkness, guided by the light of his wand and his silouette. We came out of the darkness that seemed neverending, and stepped into a brightly illuminated room.

"Nox." Dumbledore said, extingusihing the light in his wand and slipping it into the pocket of his robe.

The room we were in was all white, and it was so bright compared to the blackness we had just stepped out of that I had to squint just to see. The only furniture was two high backed chairs, set in the middle of the room.

"Sit, Lily, please." Dumbledore said, indicating the chair on the left.

I sat, and he followed, sitting it the only other chair.

I looked at him, closer than I ever had before. I saw the lines of age on his face, and the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes from smiling. He had lived a good life, that was apparent just by looking at his features.

Noticing my scrunity, he smiled, making the grooves stand out even more.

"Lily, I want to warn you, what I tell you my shock you a little, but you're a strong young woman, and I know that you can deal with it. You're the best witch in your year, and I trust you to keep this between us." Dumbledore said, his knowing gaze searching my face.

I swallowed and took a deep breath. "I can handle it sir, whatever you need to tell me, I'm strong enough."

"Very well, I knew you would say that, I just hope you are correct."

"Please, Professor, just tell me, I can handle it." I said, growing nervous. I had never seen Dumbledore this serious in all my years at Hogwarts. It was strange to see it now, and it was a little scary too, I had to admit.

"Dark times are coming, Miss Evans...it's time you know the truth about what is going on in the wizarding world, and the part that you will play in events that will come..." Dumbledore paused, sighing heavily. "The truth...is heavy, and important. Please listen carefully..."


	19. Back To Life

_A/N: Again, I am so sorry for the long period between updates! School is a killer this year! But I've been writing lately, so hopefully I'll be able to update quite a bit. I want to thank all of you that have been loyal and are sticking around to see where this goes! I hope I am not disappointing you! _

_Happy Reading! xx_

**Back To Life**

The light in the room was bright when I opened my eyes, and I immediately shut them again. Groaning, I shifted, making the crisp sheets crinkle loudly.

"Oh look, you're finally awake." I heard Madam Pomfrey say as she bustled across the room towards me. I opened my eyes again, this time more slowly, and let them adjust to the brghtness shining in throught the large bay windows on the other side of the room.

I could see quite a bit out the windows, like the lovely blue sky, the whomping willow, and the edge of the lake. There were a few students roaming about, and I figured it was probably around noon, therefore, lunchtime.

"How long have I been in here?" I asked her, pushing myself up into a sitting position. My whole body ached as I did so, and I winced.

"'Bout a week, I reckon. There was some dark magic involved, and it took the Professors a while to figure out what spell was used, and then to find the counterspell. Plus, you had some nasty cuts, and a broken arm." she said as she poured a dark syrup into a teacup and handed it to me. "Everything has healed up nicely, though you will have some brusies."

I nodded slowly, my head throbbing. A week. That was a long time. And where was James? I needed to see him. After leaving things the way I did, I needed to change things. I couldn't help but feel as though someone had told me exactly what I needed to do, and there was a really important reason that I needed to know. I just couldn't figure out what I had to do. All I knew was that it was important that I make up with James, and not just because I felt I had to. I really and truely wanted to. I loved him.

"Madam Pomfrey," I called, stopping her right before she went into her office. "When am I allowed to leave?"

"You can leave as soon as you drink that tea, but you have to drink every single drop!" She said, looking at me sternly. I nodded and smiled at her, raising the cup to my lips.

It smelled like honey and mint, with a hint of lavender, and I sighed. I took a sip, and when I swallowed I felt so much better than I had when I first woke up. My headache vanished, and my body felt a little less sore. After gulping down the rest of the tea, I kicked my legs over the side of the bed and slid to the floor.

At the bottom of the bed sat a pair of pants and a shirt from my wardrobe, and I smiled. Marlene and Alice had obviously been here, taking care of me. I changed quickly and hurried out the door. I really needed to see James.

I didn't even care that my hair looked like a rat's nest, or the fact that my clothes were wrinkled and old. I didn't care that I looked like a deranged Askaban escapee as I ran through the corridors to the Head's common room. And I didn't even care that James probably hated me for ending our fake relationship. All I cared about was the fact that I loved him, and that I knew, deep down in my heart, that we needed to be together. We were soul mates.

I reached the portrait hole and mumbled a string of words that I didn't even know how I knew, and the portrait swung forward, revealing the entrance. I stepped inside, slowing down considerably, and took a deep breath. Now that I was here, I was nervous. I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

There was no way that I could predict his reaction, or know what he was thinking. All I could hope for was that he would be open to listen to me. To let me explain. And then forgive me.

After a few more breaths, I stepped into the common room. James was sitting there, his back to me, with his head in his hands. Sirius and Remus were there too, but they hadn't noticed my arrival yet. Sirius was sitting in my favorite arm chair, his feet hanging over one of the arms, his head over the other. Remus was standing by the window, looking out towards the Forbidden Forest.

"James, she's going to be fine. Stop being such a Hufflepuff." Sirius was saying to the ceiling, his feet swinging back and forth.

"Padfoot you don't know that! Whatever they did to her, it was dark! I could feel it, and it wasn't good. She could be gone forever, and she'll never know how I really feel about her. She always thought it was fake, that I just wanted her to be my girlfriend to get Lizabeth to back off. She didn't understand that I love her. She's everything for me, she's it. If I can't have her, I don't want anyone else." James shouted, standing up. "And now I don't know if she'll ever know."

My breath caught in my throat. So it was real? Like Marlene and Alice had told me? He really did love me, and it wasn't all just an act for Lizabeth. I couldn't help but start to smile a little, even as my eyes filled with tears.

Before I could say anything, Remus turned from the window and met my gaze. He smiled widely at me, his eyes shining. "I don't think you'll have to worry about her knowing, James. Sirius, I think its time for us to go."

"Thank you." I mouthed, smiling at Remus. He tipped his head forward, and I know it was his way of saying You're Welcome.

"What? What are you talking about Moony?" James asked, spinning around. Sirius sat us as well, and they both caught sight of me at the same time.

"Oh, I see what you mean." Sirius said.

"Lily?" James questioned incredulously. He seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes wide. He looked so bloody adorable, all I really wanted to do was kiss him the way I hadn't been able to do before. The way I would be kissing him every day for the rest of my life-if things worked out the way I hoped they would.

"Hi James." I said quietly, stepping forward. This seemed to break him free of the tranced state he was in because he stepped around the couch towards me. I could see Sirius jump up from the chair quickly and head towards the entrance to the common room right behind Remus.

"See you later mate! Have fun with your girl, yeah?" he chuckled before the portrait swung shut behind the two Marauders.

"Lily, I thought...well...I'm just so glad you are okay." he said, now standing very close to me.

"I'm glad I am too. I can't believe I was unconcious for a week." I said, my whole body tingling with his closeness. I was itching to just take the small step that would close the gap between us, but I knew we needed to talk first.

"It was an incredibly long week. It was agonizing." James said, nodding his head and looking at me with those intense hazel eyes. I was on fire, just from one look. Did he feel it too?

"James, we need to talk. There's things that I need to say to you. Important things. I wasn't even concious for a week, and I missed you like crazy. If that's not saying something, I don't know what it. But before I do anything...I just want to talk to you." I said, talking really fast so that I could get it all out before I kissed him.

"Okay Lily. I'll listen to anything you have to say. Let's talk." James said, grabbing my hand. He lead me over to the couch and we sat down. Then, we started talking.

_A/N: Okay, so what did you think? :) Hopefully good things! Please please please let me know in a review! Its only a couple clicks away! And your reviews are what keeps me writing this story. :) So please, just review_


	20. James, My Real Boyfriend

**James Potter, My REAL Boyfriend**

"James, while I was unconcious something happened." I explained as we sat next to each other on the couch in our common room. I grabbed his hand, unwilling to be separated from him for another second. "I can't really explain it, and you'll probably think I'm crazy, but all I know is it was real."

James was silent, his perfect hazel eyes examining my face in that way he had. It felt like he was looking into my soul. "Lily, you don't need to convince me to believe you. I'm listening with an open mind."

I took another deep breath before launching into the story of what I experienced. I described the overwhelming darkness, and the fear of death and loss. I told him about Dumbledore appearing of the the darkness, of him leading me to the room of the purest light I'd ever seen, and before I could stop myself I told him of the things Dumbledore had shared with me. The horrors that I learned of had me almost in tears as I related them to James, the things Voldemort had been doing, the amount of followers he had acquired, it was unthinkable. There had been so many deaths in the past year that the Ministry had kept to themselves that my soul ached.

Halfway through my story James pulled me close to him, and I sighed into his chest. I used his strength to finish talking, to hold back my tears, and to steel myself for his reaction. When I finished speaking, James just held me quietly. After a few minutes I pulled back from him, looking his face over, trying to gauge his reaction to everything I had just laid in front of him.

"Lily, I'm so sorry that you had to hear all of that. I'm sorry that you were unconcious, that I couldn't stop those bastards from hurting you. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you." he whispered. His voice was low but I could still hear the fierceness behind his words.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that James. Honestly, what could you have done? It was my fault for running into their trap."

"It was my fault for pushing you into it. If it hadn't been for me and my stupid bloody selfishness you wouldn't have been hurt at all."

I sat back, narrowing my eyes at him. "James Potter, you better stop that right this instant. I don't want to hear another self pitying word from you, do you understand? I am fine, and I learned things that I wouldn't have realized if I hadn't gone through what I did. So just stop."

James sighed. "Lily..."

"No," I bit out, holding my palm out to stop him from saying anything else. I would not let James feel guilty. He had nothing to feel guilty about. Besides, if he didn't stop mopping it would put quite a damper on the feelings that I finally admitted to having for him. "I have other things to say to you, but I won't unless you agree to stop blaming yourself."

"Fine." James replied sulkily.

"Promise?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

A faint grin appeared on his face. "I promise."

"Good. But before I say what I have to say, there's something I need to do first." I smiled coyly.

"Oh? And what might that be?" James asked, cocking his head to the side.

Not bothering to reply, I leaned forward. James was completely still, a look of faint shock on his face when my hands cupped the sides of his face. I closed the gap between us, my lips meetings his softly. He smelled just as good as he always did-if not even better-and his lips were just as soft as before. His breath was minty, and I sighed, my eyes fluttering closed. I could spend the rest of my life kissing James-a fact I realized as I faced death, when I had feared I would never get that opportunity again.

I pressed closer to him, deepening the kiss as I slid my hands back and tangling my fingers in his wild black hair. I cautiously touched James' lips with the tip of my tongue, not quite knowing if I was doing the right thing. He was the first boy I had ever kissed. I felt a tug in my heart at that realization and I knew that I wanted him to be that last one I ever kissed as well. James opened his mouth and I moaned a little when his tongue met mine. Looks like I had done something right. He had finally broken out of the statuesque state he had been in, his left hand sliding into my hair at the nape of my neck, his right hand sliding down my side and resting on my hip, pulling me even closer.

I broke the kiss then, breathing heavily. I could feel that my lips were swollen, just as I could see that James' were as well. I touched his lips lightly with my fingertips and smiled.

"I love you, James Potter." I said shakily.

I watched his eyes widen, his whole face instantly lighting up with happiness. How was it that his happiness could make me so happy? I wondered. Because I knew that from that moment on, as long as James was happy and healthy and well that I would be too.

"Lily," James whispered, his hand reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that to me."

He was looking at me so tenderly, his eyes so full of love, that I felt my own eyes fill with moisture that I fought to hold back.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to say it. I think I always knew it though." I said quietly, trying desperately to hide the crack in my voice. This was supposed to be a happy moment, and I was ruining it with tears I couldn't even explain.

James placed a finger under my chin and tipped my head up gently just as a tear spilled out of my eye and ran down my cheek.

"Lily, I love you. I would have waited for you forever, no matter what I said. You're my soul mate, my true love, the only girl I have ever loved and the only one I will ever love," he said as he pulled me into his chest.

"Love can defeat even the darkest evil." I murmured as I laid my head in the hollow of his shoulder. "Dumbledore told me that when I was unconcious."

"That man does know what he's talking about." James said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

I looked up at James, my smile matching the one on his face. "Yes, I think he does."

James leaned in and kissed me then, stealing my breath and my heart. He pulled back after a few seconds and grinned at me.

"So, Lily Evans, does this mean you'll be my girlfriend? For real this time?"

I laughed loudly, all my happiness shining through my smile. "Yes, James Potter, it means exactly that."


	21. A Note From The Author

A/N: Well, my dear readers, first off I'd like to apologize for taking so long to update this chapter! Life took an unexpected turn there for a while, but I'd like to think I'll be back for a while. :) Although I'm about to move from California to New York City for college, I'm hoping to continue working on my stories and hopefully updating regularly.

Now, I think I ended this story at a place that will satisfy everyone (hopefully!) but if not, I was seriously considering starting another story, Marlene and Sirius's, which will also contain Lily and James's story. If you would be interested in this, please read and review and let me know!


End file.
